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THE MAGYARS 
IN AMERICA 



BY 

D. A. SOUDERS 

SUPERINTENDENT OF IMMIGRATION OF THE REFORMED 
CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 

CHARLES HATCH SEARS 



NEW 



BW YORK 



GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 



-s 7 



COPYRIGHT, 1922, 
BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 



THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA. II 



PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



JAN -9 '23 

IC1A0!)2789 



/ o? 



//or 

INTRODUCTION 

The New American Series consists of studies of 
the following racial groups, together with a study 
of the Eastern Orthodox Churches: 

Albanian and Bulgarian, Armenian and Assyrian- 
Chaldean, Czecho-Slovak, Greek, Italian, Jewish, 
Jugo-Slav (Croatian, Servian, Slovenian), Magyar, 
Polish, Russian and Ruthenian, or Ukrainian, Span- 
ish (Spaniards) and Portuguese, Syrian. 

These studies, made under the auspices of the In- 
terchurch World Movement were undertaken to 
show, in brief outline, the social, economic and re- 
ligious background, European or Asiatic, of each 
group and to present the experience — social, eco- 
nomic and religious — of the particular group in 
America, with special reference to the contact of the 
given people with religious institutions in America. 

It was designed that the studies should be sympa- 
thetic but critical. 

It is confidently believed that this series will 
help America to appreciate and appropriate the 
spiritual wealth represented by the vast body of 
New Americans, each group having its own peculiar 
heritage and potentialities; and will lead Christian 
America, so far as she will read them, to become a 
better lover of mankind. 

The writer, in each case, is a kinsman or has had 
direct and intimate relationship with the people, or 
group of peoples, presented. First-hand knowledge 
and the ability to study and write from a deeply 
sympathetic and broadly Christian viewpoint were 
primary conditions in the selection of the authors. 



vi INTRODUCTION 

The author of this volume, Rev. D. A. Souders, 
D.D., first became interested in the Magyars when 
he was made pastor, in 1891, of the First Reformed 
Church, Irwin, Pa., in a county where 25 languages 
were spoken. He became successively a member of 
the Synodical Board of Home Missions in 1893, 
Superintendent of Missions in 1903, and Superin- 
tendent of Immigrant Work in 1909, his interest in 
the Magyars and work among them growing with 
the years. His regard for them as a people and his 
success in work with them led to his selection as the 
writer of this book. 

These manuscripts were published through the 
courtesy of the Interchurch World Movement with 
the cooperation of various denominational boards, 
through the Home Missions Councils of America. 

At this writing arrangements have been made for 
the publication of only six of the Series, namely, 
Czecho-Slovak, Greek, Italian, Magyar, Polish and 
Russian, but other manuscripts will be published as 
soon as funds or advanced orders are secured. 

A patient review of all manuscripts, together with 
a checking up of facts and figures, has been made by 
the Associate Editor, Dr. Frederic A. Gould, to 
whom we are largely indebted for statistical and 
verbal accuracy. The editor is responsible for the 
general plan and scope of the studies and for ques- 
tions of policy in the execution of this work. 

Chaeles Hatch Seaks. 



The cost of publication of this volume was guaranteed by the 
Board of Home Missions of the Reformed Church in the United 
States. Other Boards may order copies from the publication 
and Sunday school board, Reformed Church Building, Fifteenth 
and Race Streets, Philadelphia, Pa., or from the central pub- 
lishing house, 2969-75 West 25th Street, Cleveland, Ohio. 



CONTENTS 

Part I: European Background, 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I MAGYAR HISTORY AND CHARACTER- 
ISTICS 13 

A GENERAL TREATMENT 

II PRESENT CONDITIONS IN HUNGARY . 25 

(a) Political Situation 25 

(b) Economic Conditions .... 28 

(c) Social Conditions 29 

(d) Religious Conditions .... 37 

Part II: The Magyars in America 

III IMMIGRATION .51 

IV CONDITIONS IN AMERICA .... 60 

(a) Economic Conditions .... 60 

(b) Social Conditions 65 

V RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 78 

AN INTENSIVE STUDY 

(a) Church Work among the Magyars . 78 

(b) Magyar Reformed Churches ... 89 

(c) The Valley of Decision .... 97 

(d) Forms of Religious Approach . . 107 

VI SPECIAL PROBLEMS 112 

(a) Leadership of Foreign Language 

Churches 112 

(b) Forms of Religious Break-up . .117 

vii 



viii CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER VI [Continued] 

(c) Extra-church Movement . . . 119 

(d) Pressing Need for Magyar Mission Lit- 

erature 123 

(e) Parish Evangelism 125 

(f) Religious Education .... 127 

APPENDICES 

I Americanization as the Foreigner 

Thinks of It 135 

II List of Magyar Publications in the 

United States 138 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 143 

INDEX 147 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 



Reformed Church and Parsonage, Toledo, Ohio . . 32 

Magyar Church of Debrecszin, Hungary ... 32 

Village Square and Protestant Magyar Church at 

Turkeve, Hungary 33 

Typical Magyar Ministers, Father and Son ... 64 

Magyar Reformed Singing Club, Toledo, Ohio . . 64 

Magyar Protestant Orphans' Home, Ligonier, Pa. . 65 

Officers of a Beneficial Society, Lorain, Ohio . . 80 

Foreign Mission Pageant, Magyar Young People, 

Bridgeport, Conn 81 

Reformed "Women's Society at Their Business Meet- 
ing 96 

Night School Maintained for Adults (Studying Eng- 
lish) 96 

Present Building of Oldest Magyar Church in Amer- 
ica, Organized May, 1890, East Side, Cleveland, 
Ohio 97 

Congregation at Service 128 

Confirmation Class, Reformed Church, West Side, 

Cleveland 128 

Daily Vacation Bible School of Magyar Presbyterian 

Church, Philadelphia, Pa 129 



PART I: EUROPEAN BACKGROUND 



THE MAGYARS 
IN AMERICA 

Part I: European Background 

Chapter I 
MAGYAR HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS 

The Magyars came into Europe from Asia some 
time during the eighth or ninth century. They be- 
long to the Ugro-Finn branch of the human family 
and are thus related to the Chinese and Japanese. 
Their only relatives in Europe are the Finns and 
possibly the Esthonians. Hungarian tradition says 
that two sons of Nimrod, Hunyar and Magor went 
hunting in the Ural Mountains and found in addition 
to game a very promising outlook for conquest in 
what is now Russia. They got their father's con- 
sent to migrate to the new country and Hunyar went 
westward and became the founder of the country 
now claimed by the Finns while Magor remained in 
eastern Russia and was the leader of the people now 
known as Magyars. 

Authentic history relates that these people mi- 
grated from southeastern Russia into the plains of 
Hungary with their flocks and herds in one great 
horde of a million souls in the year 896 A.D. under 
Arpad, founder of Hungary's first dynasty. Here 
they made a place for themselves which they have 
maintained ever since. Having come into the most 

13 



14 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

fertile part of Europe, the Alf old, called by a French 
writer the Jardin D'or, the garden of gold, they 
abandoned their nomadic life and became herdsmen 
and farmers. 

As might be expected from their origin the Mag- 
yars are a virile, powerful race. They are such 
lovers of horses that there is a proverb, "The Mag- 
yar was created on a horse.' ' The Magyars of this 
period were "trained riders, archers and javelin 
throwers from infancy." In the 70 years follow- 
ing Arpad's reign (who died in 907), the Magyar 
horsemen became the scourge and terror of Europe, 
ravaging Germany and Bavaria to the Ehine, and 
Italy as far south as Otranto. Otho I, king of Ger- 
many and later founder of the "Holy Eoman Em- 
pire," in 955 proclaimed them "the enemies of God 
and humanity." There is no certain connection be- 
tween the Hungarians or Magyars of this period and 
the armies of Attila that devastated the Eoman Em- 
pire 600 years before, though the territory ravaged 
was much the same. From these incursions into the 
west and south they brought back booty and cap- 
tives who all unwittingly to their captors helped to 
change them into a European nation. 

Christian missionaries. — The Magyars became ac- 
quainted with Christianity about A.D. 972 when 
their duke, Geyza, married a Christian princess, 
Sarolta, of Transylvania, whose father had been 
converted to Christianity while in Constantinople. 
It was a question of some time to decide whether 
the Greek or Eoman Church should be recognized, 
but ultimately Adalbert missionaries from Ger- 
many, who had labored earnestly from Wolfgang 
(917) to Geyza, prevailed, and Geyza's son, Viak, 
was baptized by Adalbert of Prague in 994, and was 
given the name of Stephan. He asked for the rec- 
ognition of the Pope and was crowned by Sylvester 
II of Eome, A.D. 1001, and was designated by the 



MAGYAR HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS 15 

Pope, St. Stephan, " Apostolic King of Hungary." 
Since his day, all Hungarian kings are crowned with 
his crown. 

Stephan I. — Stephan proved himself a great king, 
a constructive statesman and a great Christian, and 
has ever been the great idol of the Magyar people. 
First he changed the constitution from a tribal union 
to a kingdom. Then he undertook the Christianiza- 
tion of the people, traveling from one end of the 
country to the other, preaching, baptizing, and or- 
ganizing governments. 

He recognized the futility of conquests in the west 
and set about organizing his country into a stable 
form of government. In this he followed the models 
of western nations, subdividing the country into 
counties, establishing bishoprics and founding 
churches, convents and schools. He established a 
national council of lords temporal and spiritual and 
of knights of a lower order. Thus he gave form to 
the national assembly and prepared the way for the 
constitution which has ever since been the mainstay 
of the Magyar's civil and religious life. Fortu- 
nately, too, his successors carried forward his work 
with a reasonable degree of fidelity, so that the na- 
tion became more and more affiliated with European 
life and ideas. 

Great names. — There are other great names of 
kings in the Hungarian history besides that of her 
first great "Apostolic King," Stephan. 

There is Coloman (or Kalman), the Learned 
(1095-1114), who was much in advance of his times 
and greatly improved the laws; Louis I, "The 
Great" (1342-1390), another great lawgiver. John 
Hunyadi (1387-1456), "the greatest general of his 
age," called "the Raven Knight," because he had a 
raven with a gold ring in his beak on his coat of 
arms, who in the two great battles of Semendria and 
Belgrade saved Europe from the menace of Moham- 



16 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

medanism; and his son, Matthias (1456-1490), re- 
garded by many historians as the greatest king in 
Hungary's history. 

But, as we shall see later, both the nobility and 
common people have furnished reformers and lead- 
ers of undying fame. 

The Golden Bull. — There is no written constitu- 
tion of Hungary. This, like the English constitu- 
tion, is the product of laws extending over a series 
of centuries. The first written document, similar to 
Magna Charta of England (1217), is the Bulla Aurea 
or " Golden Bull" of Hungary, granted by King 
Andrew II in 1222 A.D. The immediate purpose of 
the king, no doubt, was to strengthen the authority 
of the Crown against the encroachments of the oli- 
garchy (Drage, p. 271), but in order to secure what 
he wanted he was compelled to make important con- 
cessions to the nobles and lower estates. The main 
provisions of the Golden Bull, put into few words, 
are that "Breach of faith on the part of the sover- 
eign makes rebellion lawful" (Drage, p. 271). True, 
the Golden Bull has been violated. It has been sus- 
pended for fear of the people and at best it was a 
concession to the nobles rather than to the people 
themselves, but it has always served as an ideal 
toward which the people of Hungary has strug- 
gled. 

For centuries the franchise in Hungary was lim- 
ited to those who had secured privileges through 
concession of the king, but as the franchise has from 
time to time been enlarged, the provisions of the 
Golden Bull have served for the greater freedom of 
the people at large. 

The Crusades.— The time of the Crusades is the 
darkest period in Magyar history, for, during that 
time the country was so devastated and depopulated 
that immigrants were invited from the west and from 
the Balkan provinces to take the places of slain and 



MAGYAR HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS 17 

captive Magyars and so were sown the seeds which 
have ever since grown harvests of serions racial, 
religious and national problems. Hungary had been 
under the Arpad dynasty for about two centuries, 
and under various other royal families for two cen- 
turies more. Then came the Crusades, during which 
time the contending armies in turn ravaged the 
country. Hungary fed the famishing Crusaders on 
their way to the Holy Land and protected their 
broken remnants as they wandered back. 

The Magyars were not, however, left in undis- 
puted possession of the land, but for several cen- 
turies they were subject to invasion and were al- 
ternately under the influence of western or eastern 
civilization according to the power of the invaders. 

It suffered one invasion of the Turks after an- 
other, until, utterly exhausted, the losses of Magyars 
in Transylvania were so great that they invited 
Saxons from the west to migrate into the territory, 
and encouraged Roumanian herdsmen from the east 
to take the places of herdsmen fallen in the wars. 
At the same time many people who fled from Turk- 
ish cruelty in the Balkan peninsula remained to be- 
come part of the Hungarian population. Thus was 
introduced the racial problem which has perplexed 
the Hungarian government ever since. 

The most disastrous of these invasions was that of 
the Ottoman Turks in the sixteenth century under 
Solyman, "the Magnificent, ' ' which culminated in 
the battle of Mohacs (1526) and resulted in the di- 
vision of the country between the Moslem and Chris- 
tian. 

During all these centuries Hungary rapidly de- 
clined and the country was finally divided into three 
parts. Transylvania became the refuge of the Hun- 
garians; the Turks took possession of the central 
part and the Austrians secured a foothold in the 
western provinces. 



13 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

The Hapsburgs. — With this division of territory 
came the fateful rule of the Hapsburgs in the person 
of Ferdinand I, who was elected by the Hungarian 
Diet in December, 1526. It was hoped by the Hun- 
garian nobles to secure help in this way from the 
tyranny of the Turks, but they were grievously dis- 
appointed, for, too often, the Hapsburg rulers saw 
in the Turk a help to keep the Magyars from assert- 
ing their constitutional privileges and exercising 
their inherent love of freedom, so the Turk was 
rather helped than hindered in his oppression of 
the Magyar people. 

The policy of the Hapsburg dynasty was declared 
to be to make Hungary German, Catholic and poor, 
and according to their well-known motto ' ' Divide et 
impera" to play off one race against another. She 
tried to carry out this dictum to make Hungary 
German, but failed; she tried to make it Catholic 
and succeeded in part ; she tried to make it poor and 
succeeded but too well. Austria never succeeded in 
her attempts to make Hungary a province of Aus- 
tria. It needs to be emphasized that there never has 
been an Austro-Hungarian Empire but a Dual Mon- 
archy, with two governments and one king and a 
Federal Parliament representing them. 

The Reformation. — The division of the country 
helped to prepare the way for the progress of the 
Reformation in Hungary. The Turks still held the 
central part ; two pretenders to the throne of Hun- 
gary held the rest; John Zapolya the east; Ferdi- 
nand the west; both contending for possession of 
the whole country. 

During their struggle for supremacy the Refor- 
mation was allowed quietly to spread as it caused 
no disturbance. It took possession of the ground 
and priest and congregation compromised with each 
other. In 1549 a new confession was drawn up 
which King Ferdinand accepted and confirmed. The 



MAGYAR HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS 19 

first persecutions in Hungary were not by Roman 
Catholics, but between Calvinists and Lutherans, 
and not till the Jesuits returned in 1577 did the 
government take an active part in the suppression of 
the new faith. The Protestants rose in revolt led 
by Prince Bocskay, of Transylvania, and compelled 
the king to grant freedom of conscience and liberty 
of worship (1606), and these articles of treaty were 
incorporated with the laws of the land by the Diet 
(1608). When the king made an attempt to cancel 
the whole treaty he was deposed and his brother 
Matthias was raised to the throne. The state of the 
evangelical churches in Hungary remained, however, 
very uncertain for several centuries, till in 1781 the 
Edict of Toleration was granted by Joseph II. This 
placed Protestants in all points on an equal footing 
with Roman Catholics. Religious freedom has been 
maintained ever since. 

We may, however, note in passing that the variety 
of religion represented in Hungary has added one 
more factor to the complications of the inter-racial 
problem — since the Roman Catholics have been in a 
large majority and in closest harmony with the rul- 
ing house of Hapsburg; the Eastern Orthodox have 
held tenaciously to their faith and have been to a 
large degree influenced by the relation of church and 
state in other Eastern Orthodox countries ; and be- 
tween them the Protestants have sometimes been a 
helpless minority and at other times have held the 
deciding vote in parliament. 

Racial agitation. — From the time when the Haps- 
burgs gained a footing in Hungary, till the begin- 
ning of the World War, three distinct racial agita- 
tions disturbed the peace of both Austria and Hun- 
gary. First came the effort of Austria to make 
Hungary German and Catholic. 

Pan-Germanism. — This continued with varied de- 
grees of intensity from century to century till the 



20 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

unsuccessful revolution of the Hungarians in 1848. 
It was intensified by the frequent agitations in be- 
half of the Roman Catholic Church. It was further 
aggravated by the fact that when the revolution 
promised success to the Hungarians the Austrian 
government called in the aid of the Russian Slavs to 
subdue the Magyars. 

Pan-Slavism. — Since the Hungarians already felt 
the pressure of the Slavs, both north and south of 
them they were the more thoroughly roused and 
alert to scent the Pan-Slav movement. Here again 
we must note the religious factor, for allegiance to 
a nation professing the Eastern Orthodox faith in- 
volves also allegiance to the Eastern Orthodox 
Church. 

Pan-Magyarism. — Under such circumstances it is 
not strange that there should have been all along 
a strong Pan-Magyar movement in Hungary. 
Though for centuries a minority of the population, 
the Magyars had been the largest single nationalistic 
element. They had been the most aggressive, most 
coherent and most progressive element; and by all 
odds the most masterful in administration among 
the diverse elements of the Hungarian population. 
The fears which agitated them have found confirma- 
tion in a remarkable way in recent Kistorv. Austria 
which sought to rule by playing off tn<* Slav against 
the Magyar has been dismembered by the Slav till 
only one province remains German. And Hungary 
by the same influence has been reduced from a popu- 
lation of eighteen millions to five and a half millions 
and from a territory of 109,216 square miles to 
24,605, the size of West Virginia. 

The Revolution of 1848.— Three names stand out 
prominently in this effort to raise the people to 
higher standards of living and to the enjoyment of 
greater freedom : Stephan Szechenyi, Francis Deak 
and Louis Kossuth. Szechenyi was of aristocratic 



MAGYAR HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS 21 

lineage but sincerely interested in the welfare of 
the common people. He was a member of parlia- 
ment, and labored faithfully in behalf of the people 
both in and out of parliament for 15 years, but he 
sought mainly to improve their living conditions 
and to counteract the Germanizing influence of the 
Court in Vienna, without aiming at any constitu- 
tional changes. Kossuth, on the other hand, though 
also of noble birth, was a son of the poorer class of 
the gentry who support themselves by their own 
exertions, and so was in touch with the common 
people, a real "commoner." 

After 1840 the bulk of the nation and especially 
the small gentry whose predominant influence was 
making itself felt were unwilling to follow Szech- 
enyi, and became ardent followers of Deak and Kos- 
suth. These men felt that economic reforms were 
not sufficient without a modern constitutional gov- 
ernment. Kossuth was the editor of a newspaper 
and when the Diet in 1832 forbade newspapers to 
print reports of its deliberations, Kossuth wrote out 
these reports, had them copied and distributed 
among the common people, and when the govern- 
ment sought to bribe him to silence he asserted his 
independence and defied the government. The re- 
sult was his imprisonment for 3 years, during whicli 
time he prepared himself by the study of English to 
carry his cause to the free nations of the west. 
After being released he began the publication of the 
Pesti Hirlap (still in existencey and through it "elec- 
trified the masses who were always ready to give 
their unconditional support to his bold and far- 
reaching schemes." 1 

Magyar characteristics. — Chief and most promi- 
nent among the characteristics of the Magyar is his 
intense and persistent patriotism. As quoted in an 

1 Vambery, History of the Hungarian "Revolution. 



22 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

article published in the Saturday Evening Post of 
June 12, 1920, he dates everything back a "Thou- 
sand Years,' ' and makes this a basis for all present 
and future nationalistic endeavor. His patriotism 
has all the faith, fervor, determination and hope of 
a religion. In fact it has been so interwoven with 
the religion of the country as to be almost in- 
separable from it. The question springs to mind 
whether his patriotism has not partaken of the fatal- 
ism of his eastern ancestors and the predestination 
of the Calvinistic religion which most of the Protes- 
tants profess. 

It was aggressive nationalism which won them a 
place in Europe; that found expression in the 
Golden Bull; that armed them against the Turk; 
that again and again thwarted the purposes of their 
Hapsburg emperor-king; that inspired the revolu- 
tion of 1848; that upheld them during the dark 
period from 1848 to 1867; that gave purpose and 
impulse and power to the wonderful development of 
Magyar government, culture and life during the last 
half century; that now maintains them under the^ un- 
certainties of the present world upheaval ; that gives 
them hope after defeat in war and the threatened 
loss of 66% per cent of their country, reducing it 
from 109.216 to 24,605 square miles. 

Temperly, in Westminster Review, January, 1908 
(p. 4), says: "The Magyar race, none admires more 
intensely their virility, capacity and energy, their 
geniality and winsome qualities as a natiom In the 
region of politics the record of the Hungarian gov- 
ernment since 1867 is full of great achievement suc- 
cessfully executed. No nation has had more fire and 
vigor, more sturdy love of independence, etc." 

Magyar assimilating power. — Though much has 
been said recently about their oppression of the 
lesser nationalities there has also been considerable 
willing acceptance of Magyar life, manners and cus- 



MAGYAR HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS 23 

toms by people of the sub-nationalities. Many of 
these may have done so for preferment at the Haps- 
burg court but since the Hapsburgs were never much 
liked by the Magyars there must be some other ex- 
planation. It provokes a Magyar to-day to tell him 
that some of his greatest heroes were of these na- 
tionalities. Kossuth, their great liberator of 1848, 
a true Magyar, was the son of a Slav. Petofi, their 
poet of liberty during the revolution, was also of 
Slovak ancestry. ' ' Intermarriage has been so com- 
mon that it would be hard to find a Magyar who has 
not the blood of one or more of the sub-nationalities 
in his veins. Those whose mother-tongue is German, 
Slav or Roumanian enjoy perfect freedom in the 
use of their idiom. . . . When the abolition of the 
privileges of the nobility overthrew class distinc- 
tions in 1848 all those who had received a good edu- 
cation, of whatever nationality and rank of society 
became Magyars in tongue and in sentiment. Even 
children of foreigners recently settled in the coun- 
try have become Hungarians in the first genera- 
tion. ,,2 

On the other hand another writer says: " Their 
Chauvinism is almost a disease, although sur- 
rounded as they have been by enemies, excessive pa- 
triotism has helped save the race from extinction. ' ' 3 

Notable achievements. — Among the notable 
achievements of the Magyar government since 1848 

2 Delisle, in Hungary of the Hungarians. 

Quotations from Delisle are given prominence because he is a 
recent English writer of 1914 who seems entirely impartial. In 
his preface he writes "Some writers have sought to obtain the 
goodwill of the Hungarians by flattering them and their land. 
I prefer to regard the Hungarians as a people too magnanimous 
to be influenced by doubtful means; too great to be offended by 
honest criticism; too intelligent to resent the telling of a truth 
when sometimes it happens to be disagreeable." 

3 Patterson, Arthur J., The Magyars : Their Country and In- 
stitutions, p. 53. 



24 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

may be mentioned the overthrow of class privilege 
which exempted the magnates and nobles and a long 
list of professionals and clericals from taxation and 
put heavy burdens on all other classes ; the reclaim- 
ing of waste lands which largely increased the cul- 
tivable acreage and prevented devastating floods 
which cause loss of crops on the farms and death in 
the cities on the river banks ; improved the literacy 
of its people from 1880 to 1890 as the accompanying 
table shows: 

1880 1890 

Per Cent Per Cent 

Germans 68.25 79.63 

Magyars 53.56 72.52 

Slovaks 39.27 60.36 

Servians 37.25 48.38 

Roumanians 11.01 23.88 

Ruthenians 8.64 17.78 

(Delisle, Hungary of the Hungarians, pp. 213, 214.) 

created a labor bureau for peasant labor ; established 
accident and old age pensions; created a building 
fund for peasant homes on the farms ; and more re- 
cently (1912) enlarged the franchise. 

^ Schierbrand. recent writer (1917), says of the 
different races in both countries, "If each of them 
could but contribute to the general life his best quali- 
ties what a gain that would be to Europe" and of 
the Magyars he writes: "If the Magyar would con- 
tribute his eloquence, his political tact and skill of 
administration, his poetical and dramatic fire, etc., 
what a gain it would be !" 



Chapter II 
PRESENT CONDITIONS IN HUNGARY 

(a) political situation 

It is well nigh impossible to write about the pres- 
ent political situation in Hungary. The only source 
of information is a series of pamphlets published 
by a Commission of Protestant Hungarians to The 
Hague in 1919. We quote at length from one of 
these pamphlets entitled, "Backgrounds of our 
Church Crisis.' ' Under the head of "Our Country, 
Our Churches and the War," we read: — "Our na- 
tion was not even in her interior affairs in posses- 
sion of her full sovereignty, but had to endure the 
autocratic tendencies of the court and of bigger and 
smaller political bosses subservient to the lat- 
ter. . . . 

"Though we had a Parliament performing most 
constitutional formalities, this Parliament was by 
its origin and composition but a parody on the real 
feelings and intentions of our people. . . . 

"The will of our people could not be freely ex- 
pressed at elections; ... we were not masters of 
our national destinies even at home, not to speak of 
those abroad. 

"We had no efficacious check whatever on the con- 
duct of the foreign affairs of our country. The only 
means of control was the delegation of the Hun- 
garian Parliament before which the foreign min- 
isters or their representatives appeared. This body, 
consisting largely of Lords and high officials, met 
only once a year (if it met at all) and adjourned at 



26 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

the end of a few days' session after merely deliver- 
ing some prearranged speeches. Within the last ten 
years the Court managed to shut off from our coun- 
try all adverse criticism of her own policy.' ' 

Then came the World War, and me methods of 
the court to secure the help of the Hungarian na- 
tion. i ' The slogan of loyalty was given out, the men 
drawn to the colors and the country placed under 
martial law. . . . When the war became a clear-cut 
issue between free nations and autocracy and when 
the men in the ranks had time to ponder over the 
affairs of their country, . . . many went over to 
the pretended enemy while others remained only be- 
cause of a sense of military duty and loyalty which 
was more strongly developed in them. ..." 

Effect on emigration from U. S. — We can form 
some idea of the present effect of the political sit- 
uation from statements of Hungarian pastors and 
foreign-exchange bankers in America. The former 
report that large numbers of their members have 
gone home during the first six months of 1920. 
Some estimates run as high as 20 per cent. For- 
eign-exchange bankers do not keep record of racial 
bookings but estimate that about 10 per cent of the 
Magyars in America will go home. They estimate 
further that most of those going are from Eou- 
mania and go because their families or relatives 
need their presence and help. 

Unrest in America. — Since the Peace Conference 
assigned to Czecho-Slovakia, to Jugo-Slovakia and 
to Roumania the larger part of the territory for- 
merly belonging to Hungary many of the Magyars 
in the dissevered provinces are in very serious and 
uncertain situations. These write to their relatives 
and friends to come to their aid. This causes much 
unrest among Magyars in America. In every 
Magyar colony money is being collected for the aid 
of their families and relatives at home and in many 



PRESENT CONDITIONS IN HUNGARY 27 

instances husbands and fathers here are induced 
by letters from home to return for their protec- 
tion. 

Present indications as to emigration from U. S. — 
Letters received from those who have gone home 
are likely to stem the outgoing tide, for more fre- 
quently than not they bring information of great 
disappointment and severe suffering of which num- 
erous examples might be given ; one will suffice. 

Mr. Perzsotzy of Johnstown, Pa., had been in 
America for fifteen years. During this time he had 
been sending home money regularly for the support 
of his family who declined to come to America be- 
cause the children were getting along well in the 
schools and one of the sons was a student for the 
ministry at the breaking out of the war. Mr. Perz- 
sotzy became an American citizen and hoped to 
bring his family over with him so he returned home 
early in 1920. He found his son disabled and his 
family in extreme poverty. To make matters worse 
he was himself arrested and is now in prison be- 
cause he had left the country in the first place be- 
fore having finished the term of his army service. 
His experience is likely to deter any other Magyars 
in Johnstown from going home. 

The better informed Magyars in America say the 
result of present conditions in Hungary will be a 
very large migration from the dissevered prov- 
inces, and that unless conditions in the territory 
remaining to Hungary improve very soon the only 
escape from intolerable conditions will be emigra- 
tion either to North or South America, and that the 
evident preference will be the United States. 

The report of the Commissioner General of Im- 
migration for 1919 is interesting on the subject but 
inconclusive, there being reasons for emigration 
from the United States and equally strong reasons 
to expect a large immigration. 



28 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

(b) economic conditions 

The economic development of Hungary has taken 
place within the last fifty years. Hungary by na- 
ture is deprived of several factors necessary for 
economic development. She is largely an agricul- 
tural country; she had only a very small seaboard 
before the war, and this by artificial arrangement, 
and has none now. She was restricted by some of 
the conditions of the Ausgleich or Compromise of 
1867, by which she was required to sell her agricul- 
tural products under free trade conditions to Aus- 
tria and get her manufactured products from Aus- 
tria under trade protection to the latter. 

Government aid. — The present government, how- 
ever, is wide awake to the economic interests of the 
country and has recently passed a number of acts to 
develop the economic resources of the country. The 
government welcomes foreign capital for the pur- 
pose, and offers favors and concessions to foreign- 
ers to locate their plants in the country. More than 
500 such firms have been assisted since 1902 and 
they in turn have found employment for more than 
15,000 Hungarians. The result has been that she 
has secured the latest discoveries and inventions as 
applied to industry and has in return secured also 
a large number of trained men among her own 
people ; the government making it obligatory to em- 
ploy Hungarians whenever such can be secured. 
The government spent no less than $6,000,000 to se- 
cure the above results. 

Industrial schools. — A number of industrial 
schools have been established. " There were in the 
year 1914 four high grade industrial schools, 
twenty-three handicraft schools, one industrial 
school for girls and five artisans' schools, the whole 
number accommodating 18,500 pupils. Besides 
these there are 460 apprentices' schools with 66,300 



PRESENT CONDITIONS IN HUNGARY 29 

pupils." The progress resulting is remarkable, for 
in 1869 only 9.4 per cent of the workers were em- 
ployed in industries; in 1914 the percentage had 
risen to 15 per cent. 

Industrial insurance. — There has also been legis- 
lation helpful to the workers. In 1891 a law was 
passed requiring all factory hands to become mem- 
bers of the sick fund which guaranteed them free 
medical attendance, medicine, and sick pay, asj well 
as confinement allowance in case of wives, and de- 
frayment of funeral expenses at death. The em- 
ployer paid one-third and the employee two-thirds 
of the contribution. This was changed in 1907 so 
that each party paid one-half of the contribution. 

Postal Savings Banks. — Post-office Savings Banks 
were established in 1886. For the first five years 
they were not popular and were run at a loss, but 
since then they have become a safe and popular 
help to the people and by the end of 1911 they had 
780,000 depositors and held deposits to the amount 
of over $24,000,000 for the year. Other institutions 
patterning after these banks swelled the amount of 
deposits to almost $600,000,000, or an average of 
about $360 for each depositor. 1 These facts about 
economic conditions are mentioned because they 
have an important bearing on the customs of the 
Magyar people in America as applied to thrift, 
economy and benevolent cooperation. 

(c) SOCIAL CONDITIONS 

To understand why there has been so large a 
migration from Hungary during the last fifty years 
we must study the social as well as the economic 
and political conditions from which this migration 
sprang. 

1 See Hungary of the Hungarians, Delisle, pp. 254-270. 



SO THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

Society in Hungary. — Society in Hungary was di- 
vided for centuries into four distinct classes: (1) 
The magnates, or greater nobles, who secured their 
titles and their estates from the king for some spe- 
cial service rendered in times of storm and stress. 
They have been therefore more closely allied with 
the royal court in Vienna and Budapest. They are 
even charged with having changed their language 
and their religion in order to be in favor at court. 
As a result they have lost the favor and respect of 
the lesser nobles who once were on friendly terms 
with them. 

Nobles. — (2) The Nobles are the landed proprie- 
tors who came into possession of their titles and 
estates centuries ago, because they bore arms in the 
conquest of the land. They are called the backbone 
of the country, who have held to the soil through all 
vicissitudes. They are the great middle class, the 
progressive class in Hungary, and are noted for the 
sincere and liberal hospitality with which they en- 
tertain. The magnate does not manage his farm; 
the noble is proud to do so and his wife shares in 
the duty. He supervises the work on the field; she 
takes charge of household affairs. He is usually 
well read and speaks several languages. A knowl- 
edge of English has become quite common among 
this class. 

Peasants. — (3) Next come the peasants or farm 
laborers. They may be divided into two classes: 
Ber.es, or those employed for the whole year, and 
the Betyars, who serve for a few months during the 
busy season. The former are considered a part of 
the family and are usually well cared for and 
kindly treated. They occupy one end of the table, 
while the farmer and his family occupy the other. 

The Betyar or occasional farm hand does not 
fare so well. He works for wages and these are 
low and vary in amount according to season. The 



PRESENT CONDITIONS IN HUNGARY 31 

amounts paid in 1906 were in spring time 34.4 
cents; in summer 53 cents; in autumn 37.8 cents, 
and in winter 26.4 cents, being an average of 37.9 
cents per day or $2.27 per week. Of course, this in- 
cluded board and lodging, but both were of the plain- 
est sort. The result was low standards of living, 
low morals and the least desirable class of farm 
labor. 

Tenant farmers. — Another class of peasants are 
the small tenant farmers. Farms in Hungary are 
either very large or very small. Four classes of 
farms are designated: Dwarf (from 1 to 5 acres), 
6.15 per cent of the arable land; small (5 to 100 
acres), 48.77 per cent of the whole; middle (100 to 
1,000 acres), 14.22 per cent of the whole; and large 
(over 1,000 acres), 31.19 per cent of the whole. 
There are 1,500,000 farms averaging 2% acres, and 
4,000 averaging 4,630 acres. Large estates include 
practically all the forests ; arable land is much more 
in the hands of small proprietors and renters. 
More than half the arable land is owned by small 
holders. Middle sized farms are being bought up 
by land speculators and sold in parcels at exorbi- 
tant profit to small holders who got the money from 
friends in America. 

Tradespeople. — (4) The last social class to con- 
sider is the Tradespeople of the towns, and the 
laborers of public improvements. The former con- 
sists largely of Germans and Jews, for the Magyar 
is not remarkable for his business capacity. At any 
rate he is not a match for either the German or the 
Jew, which two nationalities have captured the 
greater part of trade and industry. Many Magyars 
were, however, driven into the city by adverse eco- 
nomic conditions on the farms. These came largely 
from the peasant class, who sought labor at better 
wages on the government projects of reclaiming 
waste lands and building river retaining walls — a 



32 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

work winch was practically completed about the 
years 1886 to 1889. Their only resource after this 
was in the factories in cities, which were few in 
number, or to migration to America. 

The government was not blind to the necessity of 
keeping its peasant population on the farm, but for 
a time the magnates and nobles were not willing to 
pay the price. After the revolution of 1848 the 
nobles surrendered many of their ancestral privi- 
leges for the common good. Among these was the 
exemption from all taxes which they in common with 
the magnates enjoyed. The magnates refused simi- 
lar action and since then there is little social fel- 
lowship and considerable feeling against them both 
by the nobles and the peasantry. 

Farm laborers. — It was the custom of farm labor- 
ers to hire out in groups to work on the farms near 
their resident villages. There was no permanent 
human relation between them and the land owners 
for whom they worked, so they were influenced 
more and more by labor agitators to shirk respon- 
sibility and in 1890, after several seasons of bad 
crops which prevented the land owners from pay- 
ing the demands of ever-advancing wages, there was 
a great strike of farm laborers. In 1904, about 
100,000 of them migrated to America and thousands 
of others went from the country into the city. Then 
the government took matters in hand and organized 
a farm bureau that could furnish 10,000 farm labor- 
ers, who could be sent wherever needed, i.e., strike 
breakers under government control. For the good 
of these laborers the government furnished reading 
matter and entertainment ; revived the old farm and 
country fairs and festivals ; secured better housing, 
and provided a sick and old age pension, etc. 2 

2 Booker T. Washington, The Man Farther Down, pp. 92, 
93, 94, 95. 




REFORMED CHURCH AND PARSONAGE, TOLEDO, OHIO. 




MAGYAR CHURCH OF DEBRECSZIN, HUNGARY 




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PRESENT CONDITIONS IN HUNGARY S3 

The farm laborers who sought work in town and 
city fared little better than their fellow countrymen 
who remained at home. For a time the government 
furnished labor on projects to reclaim marsh land 
and to control rivers in time of flood. This both 
furnished labor for thousands of unemployed men 
and in turn secured thousands of acres of land 
which formerly lay waste. This work was, how- 
ever, practically complete by 1890, so the men em- 
ployed upon it were set free to seek employment in 
the towns and cities or resume the quietness of 
country life from which they had emerged. The re- 
sult was a glut of the labor market in the city and 
much loafing in the country. Migration to America 
was preferable to either. 

Housing of farm laborers. — The government act 
of 1905 passed by recommendation of the minister 
of Agriculture, Dr. Daranyi, provided for the better 
housing of agricultural laborers which is worth not- 
ing. It provides for the building of cottages by the 
government, or the providing of the material at cost 
for such buildings. The cost of material varied 
from $165 to $185 per cottage, to be paid back to 
the government in ten to fifteen annual payments; 
the peasant himself to erect the building. Each cot- 
tage must have a plot of ground of from 1,000 to 
1,200 square yards. In ease the government builds 
the cottage it will cost from $155 to $310 and is to 
be paid for in from twenty to thirty annual pay- 
ments. In 1905, $12,000 was expended for such pur- 
pose; a year later the amount was increased to 
$63,000. In one year there were built 10,943 cot- 
tages. One specification of the law is that during 
the period of its being paid for no alcoholic bever- 
ages are allowed to be sold on the property. 3 

3 Booker T. Washington, p. 95 seq. 



34 



THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 



EDUCATION 



State schools were established in 1875, but before 
that there had been many noted church, municipal, 
and private schools. The latest available statistics 
show the following: 



Number of 

Kind of School Schools 
Elementary 

Roman Catholic 5,305 

State 2,744 

Parish (Municipal) 1,417 

Reformed 1,903 

Greek Oriental (Uniates) . . 1,723 

Evangelical 1,338 

Eastern Orthodox 1,963 

Jewish 466 

Private 308 

Unitarian 36 

Colleges, etc. 

State Colleges 125 

Teacher Training 89 

Classical Colleges 178 

Realskola 32 

Universities 59 

of science 2 

of technology 1 

of law 10 

of theology 46 

1 1914-15. 



Number of 


Number of 


Teachers 


Pupils 


9,431 


710,799 


5,291 


316,005 


4,314 


265,094 


2,110 


204,822 


2,320 


148,162 


2,317 


137,514 


2,207 


132,574 


903 


35,594 




21,636 


301 


2,021 


237 


25,000 




8,000 


3,341 


54,199 


710 


9,540 




12,000! 



Museums. — Anthropology, Commerce, Technol- 
ogy, Industrial Arts, Agriculture, Geology, all at 
Budapest. Many of the principal towns have 
museums hardly inferior to these. 

Libraries. — The National with 1,420,000 volumes 
and manuscripts. The Academy with 200,000 vol- 
umes and manuscripts. The University with 400,000 
volumes and manuscripts. 



PRESENT CONDITIONS IN HUNGARY 35 

"What results have these several grades of schools 
attained? 

The literacy of the people is given as follows: 

By Religion By Nationality 

Per Cent Per Cent 

Jews (can read) . . . 83.03 Germans 79.63 

Evangelical 82.26 Magyars 72.52 

Reformed 75.52 Slovaks 60.36 

Roman Catholic . . . 68.26 Servians 48.38 

Unitarians 64.95 Roumanians 23.88 

Eastern Orthodox . 23.86 Ruthenians 17.78 

Greek Oriental 

(Uniates) 20.83 

The result of all this educational endeavor for the 
last fifty years has given Hungary high rank among 
the nations of Europe for educational and cultural 
standing. We quote from Hungary of the Hvm- 
garians, p. 217. 

"Hungary with her 20,000,000 of inhabitants, 
ranks to-day (1913) next after Germany and France 
for her cultural means and the earnest efforts she 
puts forth in the interest of popular enlighten- 
ment. ' ' 

Illiteracy of immigrants. — Illiteracy in the home 
land as a whole was 18 per cent in 1910, while that 
of the farms was of necessity larger. Compared 
with the literacy statistics of America, Magyars fall 
short about 9 per cent. We have, however, only 
meager statistics about the Magyars separate from 
the immigration statistics of Austro-Hungary. 
Statistics from census reports for the years 1899 to 
1909 credit the Magyars as follows : 

Total number over 14 years of age 282,740 

Total of those who could not read 32,170 

Percentage of the illiterates 11.38 

Compared with these figures are: 



36 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

Per Cent 

Polish 35.4 

Roumanian 34.7 

Slovak 24.3 

Bohemian 1.7 

Until 1867, education was entirely in the hands 
of the clergy. It will be seen from the table on 
page 34 that the Elementary schools are still 
largely parochial. The marked disproportion be- 
tween the number of theological schools and those 
of science, law and medicine is due to sectarian 
schools. Out of 49 theological schools in 1900, 29 
were Roman Catholic, 4 Eastern (Greek) Orthodox, 
5 Uniate (Greek Oriental), 10 Protestant and one 
Jewish. 

There is no trace of literary production in the 
Magyar tongue before the twelfth century. Pre- 
vious to that time all publications were in the Latin 
language, and until the close of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, Latin was the language of the court, the 
higher schools and worship. The first alphabet for 
the Magyar language was a Latin one, invented by 
early missionaries. The monasteries became cen- 
ters of arts, handicrafts, new methods in agricul- 
ture, and focuses of civilization. The earliest trans- 
lations were of legends and books of the Bible. 
Later came folk-tales, folk-songs and folk-sagas. 
Gutenberg's Bible was printed in 1456. An almanac 
was published in 1457. A few years later almanacs 
were published in Hungary under King Matthias. 
The Reformation inspired great literary produc- 
tion. Epic, lyric and dramatic poetry and ballads; 
novels, short stories, satires, and philosophy were 
produced in this period. The first newspaper in 
Magyar was founded by Rath in Pressburg in 1780. 
The golden as:e of Magyar literature was the thirty 
years preceding the Revolution of 1848. To this 
period belongs Petofi, the great national poet, and 



PRESENT CONDITIONS IN HUNGARY 37 

Jean Arany, Szasz and Vorosmarty, poets of inter- 
national fame. Arany translated Shakespeare, 
Tasso and Goethe, and Szasz translated Moliere, 
Hugo, Dante, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Goethe, Schil- 
ler and Heine. The great novelists of the period 
were Jokai, Kemeny and Eotvos. 

(d) religious conditions 

In writing on this phase of the subject we wish to 
acknowledge our debt to an English book of joint 
authorship by L. Kellner, Madame Paula Arnold, 
and Arthur Delisle, published by the Pitmans of 
London, in 1912. We also acknowledge our debt to 
a number of Magyar Protestant missionaries, Revs. 
Alex. Ludman, Alex. Kalassay, Alex. Harsanyi, and 
Louis Bogar. 

Since the promulgation of the Ausgleich or com- 
promise agreement with Austria there has been re- 
ligious freedom in Hungary for all phases of Chris- 
tianity, but not all the religions have secured the 
same help from the government. While all were 
free, not all were recognized by the state. From 
the eleventh century till the Reformation, the Hun- 
garians bore undivided allegiance to the See of 
Rome. The Slavs, however, in the meantime had 
requested the (Greek) Eastern Orthodox Church 
to send them missionaries and their request having 
been granted the Slav provinces of Lower Hungary 
were in the early part of the thirteenth century re- 
ceived into the (Greek) Eastern Orthodox Church. 
Later on, some Greek priests with their people went 
over to the Roman allegiance. These are now 
known as the Umate or Greek Oriental Church. 
They anoint the sick, baptize by immersion, admin- 
ister communion in both kinds, and the clergy 
marry. It seems strange that such concessions 
should be made by the See of Rome and the ex- 



38 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

planation is given by Count Julius Andrassy as: 
"The Hungarians never developed that zeal in per- 
secution oi neretics which the jfope expected of 
them, in spite of most urgent requests to the con- 
trary they toierated the Jews in the country and did 
them no harm." The dogma of papal infallibility 
(1872) was published by only one Hungarian Bishop 
and he was compelled to resign his see. It is not 
strange therefore that a people of such independent 
spirit should take readily to the doctrines of the 
Reformation and that the Protestant Church began 
in Hungary before 1523, and has grown to a mem- 
bership of almost four millions, including those of 
all racial elements of the population. 

Though the Magyar is passionately tenacious of 
his individual liberty he yet submits in a large de- 
gree to the dictates of those in authority and among 
few -people does the minister, or priest, or the officer 
of the state exercise such power. 

The kins: of Hungary has alwavs been the head 
of the church but he has delegated his ecclesiastical 
authority to three archbishops and under these are 
numerous bishops and lesser clerew, representing 
the various religions : Roman Catholic, Eastern Or- 
thodox (Greek), and Protestant. 

The Hungarian government until its downfall, 
however, kept a controlling hand on the affairs of 
the church. The Minister of Public Instruction is 
also the Minister of Religion. He is appointed by 
the king and his views on matters, religious and ec- 
clesiastical, must be known to the king before he 
gets his appointment. It was a foregone conclusion 
that he would be of the same religion as the king, 
a Roman Catholic. "The Catholic priest, the Prot- 
estant pastor, and the Jewish rabbi are practically 
on the footing of state employees, the amount of 
their salaries, emoluments, and pension allowances 
being fixed by the government and paid out of a 



PRESENT CONDITIONS IN HUNGARY 39 

fund raised by a tax per capitem." 4 Everybody, ir- 
respective of denominational affiliation pays this 
tax. In one sense therefore everybody in Hungary 
belongs to some church. Even strangers living in 
Hungary for some months will be asked to register 
their preferences and be assessed on the tax list un- 
less exempted by special request. Delisle, the au- 
thor of the book referred to, gives this experience: 
When the official came to inquire about his religious 
affiliation he wrote "Congregational" on the "Iden- 
tity Form." By and by he received a demand note 
for the payment of one pound, ten shillings, about 
$7.50. He said: "I never trouble these people, never 
go to their churches, I receive nothing from them," 
and the document goes into the waste basket. A 
fortnight later a collector calls in person and should 
the citizen remain obstinate, the collector will pro- 
ceed to appraise certain articles of his furniture as 
a preliminary to removing them if the amount be 
not paid within eight days from the date of the 
visit. 

TTnder such regulations the religious census sta- 
tistics, we may conclude, are fairly accurate, al- 
though we cannot say so much about the effect upon 
the relirfous life of the people. 

It is usually supposed with reference to our alien 
population in America that the Protestant element 
among them is a negligible quantity. However, this 
may be with reference to the aliens in general, it is 
not correct with reference to the Magyars. 

The following statistics are quoted from the Hun- 
garian Census (1910) : 

Per Cent 

Roman Catholics 9,919,713, or 51.5 

Uniate (Greek Oriental) 2,815,713, " 14.6 

Reformed 2,441,142, " 12.7 

Eastern Orthodox (Greek) 1,854,143, " 9.6 

* Delisle, Hungary of the Hungarians, p. 211. 



40 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

Per Cent 

Evangelical (Lutheran) 1,288,942, or 6.7 

Jews 851,478, " 4.4 

Unitarians 68,568, " .4 

Baptists and others 14,760, " .1 

This table gives the statistics for the respective 
religious bodies irrespective of language, so it must 
be compared with another table to arrive at the esti- 
mated number of Magyars belonging to these re- 
spective religions: 

Taking the respective religions separately it is 
found that: 

Per Cent 
Speak Magyar 

Unitarians 99.09 

Reformed 98.24 

Roman Catholic 60.50 

Evangelical (Lutheran) 28.56 

Eastern Orthodox (Greek) 13.39 

Greek Oriental (Uniate) 1.39 

By comparing these two tables we find there is in 
Hungary the following religious distribution of 
Magyars : 

Per Cent 

Roman Catholic 6,001,547, or about 60 

Reformed 2,398,177, " " 24 

Eastern Orthodox (Greek) 248,269, " " 2.4 

Evangelicals 110,333, " " 1.2 

Unitarians 67,944, " " .68 

Jews and others 999,700, " " 11.72 

Of course, this is only an estimate and must be 
taken as such. On this basis we may, however, 
safely count that about 25 per cent of the Magyars 
are Protestant Christians. 

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE REFORMED CHURCH OF 
HUNGARY 

It will be helpful in understanding Magyar mis- 
sion work in America to cast a glance at the organi- 
zation of the Protestant church in Hungary. 



PRESENT CONDITIONS IN HUNGARY 41 

Districts. — The government of the Eeformed 
Church of Hungary was at first based on a geo- 
graphical distribution. There were five districts 
each with its own peculiarities of organization. 

1. — The Transylvanian, established in 1553 with 
David as bishop. 

2. — The Transtibiscan, established in 1562 with 
Melius as bishop. 

3. — The Cis-Danubian, established in 1570 with 
two Classes but both under one bishop. 

4. — The Trans-Danubian, at first under the direc- 
tion of two superintendents, was made into one dis- 
trict with one bishop in 1616. 

5. — The Cistibiscan was first organized into four 
Classes with one president in 1648, but was united 
into one district in 1735 when Szentgyorgyi was 
elected bishop. 

Episcopacy vs. Democracy. — These facts are given 
to show that there was a tendency from the more 
democratic toward the episcopal organization dur- 
ing more than 150 years. In general the congrega- 
tions in Upper Hungary followed the Genevan plan 
of government while those in the southern districts 
adopted the episcopal form of government. 

Double presidency. — This divergence of plan led 
to a compromise between the princes and the advo- 
cates of presbyterial form of government by which 
there was a double presidency of Classes and Dis- 
tricts (Clerical and Laical). The result was that the 
civil magistrates put two of their chief opponents 
into jail" one of them being a professor who had 
published a book on Elders Governing the Church. 
Between these two tendencies in addition to the op- 
pressive measures secured against the Protestants 
by the Roman Catholic hierarchy, the churches 
passed through many gloomy decades and even cen- 
turies and, says Prof. Balogh, "The third centen- 
nial of the Reformation (1817) was observed with 



42 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

dismal prophecies, and the situation was not much 
changed till 1844. " 

Its organization. — Coming to the organization of 
the congregation and higher ecclesiastical bodies 
there are some peculiarities. The officers of the con- 
gregation are chosen from its membership, but 
among the elders there is one preeminent : the chief 
elder, or as he is called, the curator. He is usually 
a man of prominence in the social or political affairs 
of the community. His authority, if we may judge 
by the way curators in America speak and act, is 
often greater than that of the pastor. He will speak 
of my church, and my minister, and will tell both 
people and minister what to do. Of course, it may 
be that he is only more outspoken than some promi- 
nent elders or councilmen in our American churches. 

Classis. — The churches of a specified district in 
Hungary, usually a county, constitute a Classis. 
Here, too, the double arrangement of officers pre- 
vails. There is a president, usually a minister, 
but there is also a curator of almost equal author- 
ity. 

Synod. — Next higher are the Synods, five in num- 
ber and here again there is an ecclesiastical presi- 
dent, a bishop, and a curator, a layman only, since 
the Synod is so much higher than a congregation or 
Classis, the curator is proportionately a more promi- 
nent citizen of the territory of the Synod, a baron 
or count. 

General Synod. — Highest of all is the General 
Synod, where the presiding officers are always a 
bishop and a baron or count. The bishop, of course, 
would have preeminence in matters pertaining to 
faith and doctrine, but the curator or civil president 
would negotiate all matters pertaining to the rela- 
tion of church and state or as pertain to affairs in 
America. He would carry through all negotiations 
with an American church or church board. This at 



PRESENT CONDITIONS IN HUNGARY 43 

least has been the experience of Boards in America 
dealing with Hungarian church officials. 

Conventus. — The conventus is an executive body 
conducting the affairs of the general church in the 
interims of General Synods, which are held only 
every ten years. It consists of about sixty members 
(ex-officio), all the ecclesiastical and lay heads of the 
five synods, and other elected members. 

Eeference is made to this organization of the 
church in Hungary to explain the church organiza- 
tion among Protestant Magyars in America. The 
first fact that impresses a visitor to an American 
Magyar church is the authority of the minister and 
then little lower is the authority of the curator. 
These two men practically "run the church," for 
though the election may be somewhat tumultuous, 
the minister usually secures the election of his 
curator. 

Present religious conditions in Hungary. — The 
estimate of present religious conditions in Hungary 
comes to us from the Hungarian Commission at the 
Hague from which we quoted concerning the politi- 
cal situation. 

Beginning with a paragraph on the need of new 
spiritual connections the pamphlet says : 

* ' During the last two or three generations the time 
came finally for our churches to devote their atten- 
tion to their own inner upbuilding. . . . Providence 
used our brethren in the West to give us the most 
valuable help." This came from the great Bible So- 
cieties of England and America and from the "Scot- 
tish Mission" of the United Free Church of Scot- 
land. Of the work of this "Mission" the writer 
says: "There is scarcely a single religious move- 
ment on foot at present in Hungary the beginnings 
of which are not linked up somehow or other with 
this Mission." 

Among other agencies noted are the Presbyterian 



44 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

World Movement; the influence of numerous Hun- 
garian students from Scottish colleges and univer- 
sities; the influence of denominations of recent 
origin in Hungary such as the Methodist, the Bap- 
tist and the Seventh Day Adventist. ' ' Though small 
in numbers and struggling with many difficulties due 
to their lack of a historical past in the country, yet 
these denominations soon exerted valuable influences 
. . . and became stimulating rivals in Christian ac- 
tivities to the historical Protestant denominations." 

This significant paragraph occurs in the pamphlet 
quoted: " Unfortunately certain personal factors of 
our Bef ormed Church, in its dealings with the Home 
Mission Boards of some of the American sister 
churches sadly misread the real spiritual interests 
entrusted to them. They adopted an attitude with 
regard to the care of Eeformed Hungarians in 
America . . . which prevented the rich fruits of a 
possible cooperation to ripen from the inner devel- 
opment of their own church.' ' There is promise in 
another paragraph : 

"All those movements which shape the future of 
Hungary's religious life most directly, are inti- 
mately bound up with the religious forces of Great 
Britain and America; such as the Young Men's and 
Young Women's Associations, the Sunday Schools, 
the Christian Endeavor Societies, the Student Vol- 
unteer Movement." 

"Bepeated visits in Hungary of such world-wide 
known representatives as John B. Mott, Bobert P. 
Wilder, Buth Bouse, ushers in new stages of devel- 
opment. ' ' 

From a private letter to the author, dated Febru- 
ary 10, 1922, written by the pastor of a New York 
City Magyar Church, lately returned from Hungary, 
a very illuminating view of the conditions of Protes- 
tant Church life in Hungary is obtained. He says : 



PRESENT CONDITIONS IN HUNGARY 45 

* ' The sufferings of the war of four years, and the 
indescribable experiences of two revolutions in five 
months, and of Bolshevism and the Eoumanian in- 
vasion created a new atmosphere in our church in 
many senses. Multitudes, even outside the churches, 
disillusioned by all the experiments, both of the So- 
cialistic and Bolshevik regimes, now turn with more 
trust to spiritual things, where they find consolation 
after their awful losses of material and other things. 
These good signs and the collapse of some of the 
Christian Churches (Roman Catholic, Reformed, 
Lutheran, etc.) in the cities and the country, awak- 
ened many of those ministers who themselves were 
but mildly interested in Spiritual things before the 
war. By these ministers our little group of Gospel- 
preachers was greatly interested and last summer, 
in one of our frequently repeated and successful 
ministers' conferences, we determined to lay the 
needs and methods of supply before the General 
Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church just held 
in Budapest. We did that. There we started an 
Evangelistic campaign for the whole country. For 
preparation we established the First Religious Hun- 
garian Tract Society and started the work with four 
colporteurs. As soon as we get from some source 
enough financial help to cover the expenses, we will 
send out fifteen of our best preachers to the country 
for a whole year. The doors are everywhere open 
for us. If we do not get enough help we will start 
the work with five preachers and they will do this 
work for three years instead of one as above pro- 
posed. The Methodists and Baptists in Hungary are 
pushing ahead. This fact is also stimulating the 
historical churches of Hungary. The Roman Cath- 
olic Church is making desperate efforts to get 
the leadership in everything (politics, etc.). They 
are mourning the failure of the coup of the Haps- 



46 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

burg Charles, the ex-king of Hungary. We have the 
hope and assurance of the triumph of the Gospel in 
Hungary — or we are lost. ' ' 

A plea for just judgment. — Before closing this 
Study of the Magyar background in Hungary, it will 
be worth while, in the interest of history in its wider 
bearings, to note the debt which Christian civiliza- 
tion owes to Hungary as a buffer state between it 
and Mohammedanism as that military religion is 
represented by the Turk with his greed for conquest, 
his disregard for all national and human rights and 
religious freedom. 

Again and again, in the reigns of Sigismund, Hun- 
yadi, and Matthias, and in 1683 with the assistance 
of Poland and its soldier king, John Sobieski, Hun- 
gary drove the Turk back to his own soil. The battle 
of Vienna in 1683 broke forever his power and men- 
ace to Europe. " Honor to whom honor is due." 

The Hungarian is no longer a "Hun" but a 
Magyar. Why should the Magyar of to-day be meas- 
ured by or punished for the sins of his ancestors of 
a thousand years ago? 

HUNGARY'S NATIONAL SONG 

Rise, Magyar, is the country's call ! 
The time has come, say one and all. 
Shall we be slaves, shall we be free? 
This is the question, now agree! 

Refrain : 

For by the Magyar's God above 

We truly swear, 
We truly swear the tyrant's yoke 

No more to bear. 

Alas! till now we were but slaves; 
Our fathers resting in their graves 
Sleep not in freedom's soil. In vain 
They fought and died free homes to gain. 



PRESENT CONDITIONS IN HUNGARY 47 

But by the Magyar's God above 

We truly swear, 
We truly swear the tyrant's yoke 

No more to bear. 

A miserable wretch is he 
Who fears to die, my land, for thee! 
His worthless life who thinks to be 
Worth more than thou, sweet liberty! 

Now by the Magyar's God above 

We truly swear, 
We truly swear the tyrant's yoke 

No more to beer. 

The sword is brighter than the chain, 
Men cannot nobler gems attain ; 
And yet the chain we wore, Oh, shame ! 
Unsheathe the sword of ancient fame! 

For by the Magyar's God above 

We truly swear, 
We truly swear the tyrant's yoke 

No more to bear. 

The Magyar's name will soon once more 
Be honored as it was before! 
The shame and dust of ages past 
Our valor shall wipe out at last. 

For by the Magyar's God above 

We truly swear, 
We truly swear the tyrant's yoke 

No more to bear. 

Written by Alex. Petofi. 
Translated by Wm. N. Loew. 



PART II: THE MAGYARS IN 
AMERICA 



Part II: The Magyars in America 

Chapter III 

IMMIGRATION 

Distribution of Magyars in U. S. — The census of 
1920 classifies under "foreign white stock" those 
born abroad and those born here, one or both of 
whose parents were born abroad. The Census 
Bureau has issued several bulletins concerning our 
immigrant population. The first reported 397,282 
born in Hungary. The second 598,170 born in Hun- 
gary and 512,735 born of foreign-born Hungarian 
parents, a total of 1,110,905. A later bulletin made 
it 1,129,796. It must be remembered that these fig- 
ures are for Hungary before the war and include 
all people from Hungary regardless of race, such 
as Roumanians of Transylvania, now a part of Rou- 
mania, Slovaks of Slovakia, now a part of Czechc 
Slovakia, and Croats, Slovenes, Austrians and 
others living in the territory of Southwest and West 
Hungary. The last bulletin (issued June 28, 1922) 
gives the figures for Magyar "stock" as 268,112 for- 
eign-born Magyars and 205,426 born in the United 
States of foreign-born parents, a total of ^73,538. 
These are real Magyars, speaking the Magyar lan- 
guage, and are the people concerning whom this 
book is written. Of these 473,538 the state of New 
York has 95,000, Ohio 88,000, Pennsylvania 85,000, 
New Jersey 47,000, Illinois 40,000, Michigan 26,000, 
Connecticut 15,500, Wisconsin 12,000, Indiana 11,000, 
Missouri 9,500, West Virginia 7,300, California 6,000, 
Minnesota 5,000. No other state has more than 3,000. 

51 



52 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

Every state in the union has Magyar immigrants. 
The state with the smallest number (46) is Nevada. 
The cities with the largest numbers are : New York 
City 75,000, Cleveland 33,000, Chicago 31,000, De- 
troit 23,000, Philadelphia 20,000, Akron, Ohio, 8,000, 
St. Louis and Bridgeport, Conn., 11,000 each, Mil- 
waukee 6,000, Pittsburgh, Pa., 7,500, Newark, N. J., 
and Bethlehem, Pa., 5,500 each, Trenton, N. J., 5,000, 
Passaic, N. J., New Brunswick, N. J. and South 
Bend, Ind., 4,000 each, Toledo, O., 4,000, Cin- 
cinnati, O., 4,000, Perth Amboy, N. J., 3,500, 
Buffalo 4,500, Youngstown, O., 3,600, McKeesport, 
Pa., 3,000, E. Chicago, Ind., 3,000, St. Paul, Minn., 
and Los Angeles, Cal., 2,500 each, Roosevelt 
and Garfield, N. J., Baltimore and San Francisco 
2,000 each, Jersey City, Lackawanna, N. Y., Eliza- 
beth, N. J., Johnstown, Pa., linkers, N. Y. and Nor- 
walk, Conn., 1,800 each, Mansfield, O., 1,400, Brad- 
dock, Pa,, 1,300, Gary, Ind., Canton, O., Columbus, 
O., 1,200 each, Barberton, O., 1,150, Clifton, N. J., 
Alliance, O., Elyria, O., Aurora, EL, Racine, Wis., 
1,000 each, Homestead, Pa., Kenmore, O., Paterson, 
N. J., 900 each, Schenectady, N. Y., 800, Omaha, 
Neb., Denver, Col., Farrell, Pa., Portland, Ore., 700 
each, Whiting and Hammond, Ind., Granite City, 111., 
Hoboken and Bayonne, N. J., New Haven and Tor- 
rington, Conn., N. Tonawanda, N. Y., Lakewood, O., 
and Steelton, Pa., 600 each, Monessen, Pa., Oakland, 
Cal., Joliet, 111., Rochester, Tonawanda and Pough- 
keepsie, N. Y., and Phillip sburg, N. J., 500 each. 

The following cities and towns have less than 500 
each: Connecticut, Derby, S. Norwalk, Hartford, 
Wallingford, Stamford; Pennsylvania, Hazleton, 
Preeland, Mt. Carmel, Sheppton, Weston, Pricedale, 
McAdoo, Etna, Star Junction, Sharon, Berwick, 
Elizabeth, Barnesboro, Windber, Beaver Falls, 
Throop, Brownsville, Winburne, Scalp Level, Shick- 
shinny, Vintonville, Ambridge, New Castle, Erie, 



IMMIGRATION 53 

Duquesne, Seanor, Erwinna, Heilwood, Hoods Hol- 
low, Yatesboro, Smithdale, Uniontown, Ferris, Ros- 
siter, Donora, Puritan, Clymer, Harrisburg, Nesque- 
honing, Smithton, Ellwood City, Punxutawney, Dee- 
gan, Avella, Masontown, Helvetia, Lloydell, Wilkes- 
Barre, Phoenixville, Orient, Federal, McKees 
Rocks, Palmerton, Sharpsville, Leecbburg, Scran- 
ton, Syano, Zelienople, New Brigbton, New Alexan- 
der, Forbes Road, Clairton, Monongabela, Saga- 
more, Red Hill, Van Meter, Vestaburg, Bruceton, 
Northampton, Lnzerne Mines, Devault, Canonsburg, 
Crab Tree, Iselin, Irwin, Renovo, Expedit, Seminole, 
Aliquippa, Altoona, Mclntyre, Epton, Yukon, Board- 
man, Forest City, Millenauer, Benscreek, Macdon- 
aldton, Edri, Jessup, Lyndora, Cherry Valley, 
Studa, Oakdale, Portage, Coatesville, Stove, Argen- 
tine, Springdale, Connellsville, Hanover Green, 
Kingston, Cuddy, Elinor, Shamokin, Benning, S. 
Bethlehem, Latrobe, Whitsett, Rankin, Willock, Mar- 
tin's Creek, Allegheny, Keiser, Minersville, Black- 
lick, Snow-shoe, Pottstown, Wehrum, Mutual, Udell, 
Daisytown, Burdine, Lebanon, "Westmore, Dunmore, 
Dickson City, Morrisdale, Traveskyn, Trauger, Oil 
City, Broughton, Charleroi, Glen wood, Vestaburg; 
Ohio, Fairport, Dillonvale, Hubbard, Murray, Ash- 
tabula, Barton, Medina, Collingwood, New Philadel- 
phia, Drakes, Congo, Clay Center, Maynard, Fair- 
port Harbor, Tilltonsville, Martins Ferry, HolKster, 
Bradley, Ramsey, Adena, Connorville, Grand River, 
Niles, Lansing, St. Clairsville, Painesville, Mid- 
dletown, Rossford, Portsmouth, Robyville, New 
Comerstown, Bedford, Conneaut, Fremont, Glencoe, 
Rayland, Newark, Steubenville, Byesville, Ashtabula 
Harbor, Crescent, Glens Run, Gypsum, Startle, 
Bannock, Sweden, Jobs, Huron, Warnock, Coshoc- 
ton, Modoc; New York, So. Tonawanda, Witherbee, 
Ithaca, Roseton, Depew, Garnerville, E. Kingston, 
Portland Point, Kreischerville, Peekskill, New Mil- 



5% THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

ford, Hudson, Hastings on the Hudson ; New Jersey, 
Alpha, Keasbey, Wharton, Franklin, Chrome, 
Franklin Furnace, Oxford, Roebling, South Eiver, 
West Newark, Cliffside, Manville, Carteret, Wood- 
bridge, Oxford Furnace, Flemington; Indiana, In- 
diana Harbor, Clinton, Sullivan, Terre Haute, Uni- 
versal; Illinois, South Chicago, Westville, Harris- 
burg, Zeigler, West Pullman, Divernon, Waukegan, 
Clifford, Kincaid, Buckner, Hegewisch, Springfield, 
Decatur; Maryland, Lord, Luke; Michigan, Kear- 
sarge, Muskegon Heights, West Detroit, Owosso, 
Port Huron, Wyandotte, Mohawk, Kalamazoo, 
Grand Rapids, Bellevue, Red Jacket, Flint, Besse- 
mer; Massachusetts, Boston, Everett, S. Boston; 
Georgia, Budapest ; West Virginia, Red Jacket, Mor- 
gantown, Landraff, Glen Jean, Gary, Benwood, 
Clarksburg, Holden, Baxter, Keystone, Montana 
Mines, Tarns, Filbert, Farmington, Logan, Minotti, 
Ward, Viropa, Dobra, Thorpe, Algoma, Elkhorn, 
Hutchinson, Kempton, Wheeling ; Virginia, Stonega, 
Pocahontas, Dante, Tom's Creek; Delaware, Wil- 
mington; Colorado, Primero, Pueblo; Kentucky, 
Freeburn, McVeigh, Jenkins; Wyoming, Rock 
Springs, Sweetwater; Oklahoma, Coalgate; Rhode 
Island, Providence. 

The following table, showing the distribution of 
Magyars in the United States, has been prepared 
from the Census statistics of 1920. It contains the 
number of foreign-born and native-born Magyars in 
each state and the number of counties, cities of 
10,000 or more population and other places where 
Magyars are found. 

From the table below it will be seen that Magyars 
are found in every state of the Union. They are 
found in more than half of the 2,873 counties and in 
584 cities of 10,000 or more inhabitants, as well as 
in a great number of smaller cities, towns and rural 
districts. 



IMMIGRATION 55 









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New York 53,653 41,758 62 57 11 

Ohio 50,304 37,710 75 49 39 

Pennsylvania ... 49,086 36,785 62 75 104 

New Jersey .... 26,697 20,572 21 39 16 

Illinois 22,695 17,248 73 42 41 

Michigan 14,921 11,339 80 27 63 

Connecticut 8,726 6,108 8 18 5 

Wisconsin 6,623 5,033 67 21 48 

Indiana 6,172 4,691 58 28 35 

Missouri 5,327 4,349 57 10 50 

W. Virginia .... 4,130 3,139 35 9 23 

California 3,470 2,627 56 24 4a 

Minnesota 2,832 2,152 73 9 74 

North Dakota . . 1,663 1,253 46 3 45 

Maryland 1,285 977 22 4 20 

Massachusetts ..918 698 8 8 

Virginia 853 648 34 13 25 

Colorado 763 580 46 5 45 

Kentucky 715 543 27 7 22 

Washington 698 530 . . . . 10 

Texas 621 472 100 28 75 

Montana 616 468 45 6 41 

Oregon 602 457 30 4 30 

Nebraska 535 407 54 5 55 

Iowa 493 375 

Kansas 411 312 62 13 51 

South Dakota . . 386 293 55 2 55 

Florida 252 192 30 6 25 

Alabama 246 187 28 9 20 

Wyoming 230 175 19 2 18 

Tennessee 215 163 21 7 15 

Louisiana 201 153 22 4 20 

Oklahoma 205 156 41 10 32 

Vermont 173 131 8 3 7 

Georgia 162 123 20 8 17 

Idaho 154 117 

Delaware 143 108 3 1 3 



56 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 









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Arizona 


140 


106 








Utah 


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Arkansas 


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Total 


268,112 


205,426 


1,411 


584 


1,248 



Migrations in the United States. — There has 
always been much moving from place to place among 
the Magyar people owing to changes in wages and 
kinds of employment. A slight increase of wages 
or a more agreeable kind of work may send them 
across the continent. A large majority of the men 
are single or men whose families are in the home 
land. It is therefore easy to go from place to place. 
It is, however, impossible to form an estimate of the 
magnitude of this migration. The only criterion 
would be the quarterly reports of missionaries to 
their respective Boards, and from these it appears 
that a missionary may report increases or decreases 
of membership in his congregation of from 10 to 20 
per cent per quarter or possibly a change of 30 per 
cent per annum. 

Return to Hungary. — In the matter of return to 
the home land we have more definite information, 



IMMIGRATION 57 

for since the year 1907 the government gives by na- 
tionality not only the number of immigrants but also 
the number of emigrants. From government re- 
ports for the years since 1907 we cull the following 
facts : 

STATISTICS TAKEN FROM REPORT OF THE COMMIS- 
SIONER-GENERAL OF IMMIGRATION FOR 1921. 

Tables XV, XV B, XVIII 

Immi- Emi- Net Immi- Net 

Year gration gration gration Deported Increase 

1908 24,378 29,276 -4,898 65 -4,963 

1909 28,704 11,507 17,197 42 17,155 

1910 27,302 10,533 16,769 304 16,465 

1911 19,996 18,975 1,021 46 975 

1912 23,590 17,575 6,024 39 5,985 

1913 30,610 11,496 19,114 269 18,845 

1914 44,538 14,254 30,284 99 30,185 

1915 3,064 2,262 802 2 800 

1916 981 394 587 4 583 

1917 434 133 301 2 299 

1918 32 41 -9 -9 

1919 52 10 42 2 40 

1920 252 14,619 -14,367 

1921 9,377 12,457 -3,080 

Total .... 213,319 143,532 69,787 874 68,913 

From these figures we learn that in the fourteen 
years ending June 30, 1921, 67 per cent of the Mag- 
yars coming in returned home, and 33 per cent re- 
mained. The net gain for this period by immigra- 
tion, only, was 68,913. 

Since the close of the World War, Magyars have 
been returning in large numbers. Some Magyar 
colonies report one-third of the people as either hav- 
ing gone or going. The number returning in the 
year ending June 30, 1920, was 14,619, and in the 
year ending June 30, 1921, 12,457. In 1920 only 252 
came in, but in 1921, 9,377. 



58 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

No one can yet tell what the future will bring. The 
uncertainties of Hungarian politics, and the figures 
given above make forecasts mere guesses. 

The population of Hungary according to the pres- 
ent proposed alignment of territory for Hungary 
makes the population almost exclusively Magyar. 

The population of Hungary as it was is reckoned 
at 18,264,533 ; that of Hungary as it is to be is given 
at 5,509,168. The percentage of Magyars in this ter- 
ritory will be 89.4 per cent as over against 54 per 
cent in Hungary before the war. 

Inquiry of Magyars in different cities shows that 
those returning are largely from the eastern coun- 
ties of Hungary, and from agricultural communities 
in Hungary. 

An illustration shows to what extent this prevails. 

A Magyar Eef ormed man came to bid farewell to 
his pastor while the writer was present. He told of 
fourteen other men from the same congregation who 
were going on the same vessel. When told of the 
unsettled condition in the eastern part of Hungary 
he said : ' ' That is just why I am going home. I have 
a wife and four children living in territory now oc- 
cupied by the Eoumanians and my wife writes that 
they are in great need, having been deprived of most 
of their furniture and all the food they had not hid- 
den away in the fields. What should a husband do 
when he gets such a letter? I go. The men who go 
with me go for the same reason. " Similar condi- 
tions are reported from every Magyar colony of any 
size. 

Will they return again? — The answer to this ques- 
tion usually is: "Yes, unless we find conditions in 
the homeland much improved from what they were 
when we first came to America. ' ' They are hopeful 
that this will be the good fortune of Hungary and 
therefore the inference is that those going home will 
xemain. Others say, "No, we are going home to 



IMMIGRATION 59 

bring our family to America. America has been 
good to me, it will also be good for my family." 
No one can tell what the trend of migration will be. 
As we have seen even the Commissioner of Immi- 
gration in his report for 1919 is very uncertain. 

Since the new Hungary will be almost exclusively 
agricultural, the Commissioner-General of Immigra- 
tion thinks it is not unreasonable to expect that when 
something like normal conditions are restored in 
central and western Europe, Hungarian agriculture 
will find itself in a highly favorable position, and 
this would normally act as a powerful restraint to 
emigration. It is therefore only a vague guess what 
will be the trend of immigration from Hungary to 
the United States. 



Chapter IV 

CONDITIONS IN AMEEICA 

(a) economic conditions 

The moral and industrial status of the Magyar in 
America is according to Prescott F. Hall, Immigra- 
tion, p. 61, " higher than that of the Slavic races, but 
they are more high-strung and nervous and less 
adaptable, for example, than the Slovaks. . . . And 
they do not readily assimilate or adopt our citizen- 
ship." Magyars are credited with about $16 per 
capita when they come to America. While here they 
are industrious and send home large sums of money 
for the benefit of their families or other relatives. 
One out of thirteen is said to be a skilled laborer. 

Social effects of economic conditions. — This is a 
difficult estimate to make. Kichmond Mayo-Smith of 
Columbia University well says: "We can compare 
the constitutional and administrative systems of dif- 
ferent countries and say which unites the greatest 
security for life and property with the greatest lib- 
erty of the individual. . . . But there is no adequate 
expression for the degree of morality, or even its 
respect for law, much less for the tone of its social 
life and the loftiness of its social ideals. . . . We 
are in the same position when we try to measure the 
social effects of immigration. ... It would be ab- 
surd to trace effect back to specific cause or say that 
certain desirable things are an inheritance from our 
American ancestry and that others, undesirable 
ones, are the result of immigration. We can only 
study tendencies and distinguish certain eharacter- 

60 



CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 61 

istics of the American people before the immigration 
commenced and say whether we are preserving or 
losing them." 

The same reasoning pertains to the Magyars in 
America. We must bear in mind that a very large 
percentage of them come from the farms of Hun- 
gary and that in the homeland they enjoyed less edu- 
cational opportunity than was enjoyed by their more 
fortunate fellow countrymen of the towns and cities. 

As probably 72 per cent of the Magyar immi- 
grants were agriculturists before they came to 
America we find most of them employed here in un- 
skilled labor. They are found mostly in mines and 
factories where they at least begin as laborers, 
though they soon work their way up to better pay- 
ing positions. 

Housing conditions. — These changes in occupation 
were no doubt brought about by the opportunity 
to earn higher wages. They have not, however, re- 
sulted in higher standards of living. When the men 
worked in the mines they lived mostly in company 
houses and of late years the great coal companies 
have housed their workmen in better houses and sub- 
jected the tenants to occasional visits of an inspector 
to see how they live. Besides the house, they usually 
had a small plot of ground which furnished vege- 
tables for the family. This applies notably to the 
great coal companies of western Pennsylvania, 
where the tenants are encouraged to keep the house 
and lot clean by the gift of prizes for the best look- 
ing yard and in several instances by affording spe- 
cial bathing facilities. 

When on the other hand these men move to the 
manufacturing town or village they live in rented 
houses located in the foreign section, where they 
must pay exorbitant rents for unsatisfactory and 
often unsanitary houses and as a consequence they 
crowd the house with boarders till beds are occupied 



62 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

by two shifts of men : one by day and the other by 
night. An exception to this rule is found in Sonth 
Lorain, Ohio, where the town is well laid out with 
broad streets and neat houses on broad lots. 

As a rule the Magyar housewife is neat and clean 
and very proud of her culinary skill so that if she 
has a fair chance she keeps the house clean and the 
table well supplied with nourishing food. Prof. Ed- 
ward A. Steiner in the Outlook for August 29, 1903, 
says of the Magyars in Cleveland, 0. : ' ' Some 20,000 
live round about the great steel mills. Although 
street after street is occupied by them I have never 
seen a house that showed neglect. ... A large 
Catholic Church, a Greek Catholic Church and a 
flourishing Protestant Church show that the Magyar 
does not neglect his religion. A weekly paper keeps 
him in touch with the affairs of the day both at home 
and in America. ' ' 

There was in 1906 in New York City a Hungarian 
Home and Free Employment Office, which, during 
the year 1907 found employment for 1,407 Hungar- 
ians, distributed as follows : 

237 in Coal Mines. 

288 in Factories. 

270 in Brick Yards. 

300 as Porters and Domestic Servants. 

312 as Farmers. 

All were sent to Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, 
New Jersey, Connecticut, "and West Virginia. The 
average wages for all of them were $1.46 per day. 

Wages. — "Wages vary greatly in the same indus- 
try. They do not depend so much upon their ef- 
ficiency as upon the character of the industry in 
which they work. . . . Magyars in cotton mills get 
about $8.92 a week, but in iron and ore they earn 
$13.96,^ and in oil refining $14.61. The best wages 
are paid in mines, glass works, oil refining, cigar and 



CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 63 

tobacco factories, slaughtering and meat packing 
houses and on the docks.' ' x 

Industry and thrift. — The amount of money sent 
to Hungary from 1900 to 1906 in postal money or- 
ders is as follows : 

Number of orders sent 7097 

Sum total of money $249,885.37 

Average per order sent $35.21 

Average per year $41,647.56 

What proportion of this was sent by the Magyars 
it is of course impossible to tell as the immigrant re- 
ports did not differentiate races till the year 1907, 
but we may infer that at least one-fourth of this 
amount was sent by Hungarians, or about $62,471.34. 

Savings. — The Magyar is not remarkable for his 
financial ability. He is industrious and honest but 
he is rather free in the spending of money. His 
home is usually well furnished, his table is well sup- 
plied; his wife and children are well clothed; but his 
hospitality often gets the better of him. There is 
an adage among Magyars to the effect that "The 
last man closes the door," i.e., when the purse is 
empty and the owner must leave the home in poverty 
he closes the door. 

The average of deposits in thirty-one immigrant 
banks investigated by the United States Immigrant 
Commission showed the aggregate amount deposited 
to be $209,190 for 3,196 depositors, or an average of 
$65.45 per depositor. The Magyar stood at the bot- 
tom of the list with a credit of $52.74 while the 
Greek reached an average of $115.90. We should, 
however, say to the credit of the Magyar that he 
mistrusts the immigrant bank and that he sends 
home large sums of money through the postal au- 
thorities. 

1 The Neiv Immigration, p. 69. 



64 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

The very purpose of their coming to America is 
to improve their economic condition. It would be 
interesting to know the per capita amount they save, 
but since this is impossible we may note that some 
years ago the writer inquired of the Postmaster of 
Irwin, Pa., where at that time many Magyars 
worked in the mines, what amount of money was 
sent to post offices in Hungary. The accommodat- 
ing official reported an average for six months as 
being $3,400 per month, or an average of $72 per 
order. A more recent (1919) estimate at the same 
post office is $109 per order. 

It is true among the Magyars, as among all immi- 
grant people in America, that every able-bodied 
person must work. The result is that children are 
sent to the mine or the mill as early as the law 
permits, and the number of producers is limited 
only by the number of children in the family. 

The following table gives a comprehensive view 
of social and economic conditions of the Magyar 
working man in America. 

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DATA BY PERCENTAGES 

(Compared with Neighboring People) 

§ ;s § 

«s e ©> 

*« 'to 

S -S o -2 o © © © S 

^|^^^ ^ I ^ °> ^\i 

Political Condition 

Naturalized 33 11 46 9 9 

First papers 16 16 28 14 13 

Literacy 

Speak English 56 46 66 51 33 

Can read 90 91 99 71 82 

Can read and write . . 83 90 96 69 81 





Gabriel Dokus Sr. European Trained Gabriel Dokus Jr. American Trained 

TYPICAL MAGYAR MINISTERS, FATHER AND SON 




MAGYAR REFORMED SINGING CEUB, TOLEDO, OHIO. 



CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 



65 












go 



J5j 



5 s 



Occupations at home 

Manufacturing 15 

Farming 54 

Laboring 10 

Trade 3 

Households 

Average number of 
persons 

In household 6 

In room 1.4 

In sleeping room . . 2.5 
Keeping Boarders 

Per cent of house- 
holders 33 

Residence of Wives 

In Europe 23 

In America 77 

Kind of Employment in 
Industries, percen- 
tage of workers 

Coal mining 

Iron and steel 

Car building 

Electrical supplies . . . 

Sewing machine fact . 

Weeklv Income in Cash 

Men $11.92 

Women $ 7.90 

Belong to Trade Unions 

Native Americans .... 14.1 
Foreign born 13.4 



7 
66 
12 

1 



54 

43 
57 



5.2 
5.4 
3.5 
2.9 
3 

$11.65 
$ 7.74 



9.7 



29 

31 

10 

2 



5 

1.18 
3 



8 
92 



$13.07 
$ 9.28 



4.8 



3 
81 

8 



.6 



60 

59 
41 



$11.37 



5 
74 
11 

3 



12 
3 

4 



80 

74 
26 



$10.00 
$ 7.57 



(b) social conditions 

Neighborhood life. — A study of Magyar neighbor- 
hood life is very interesting. Every neighborhood 



66 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

differs in some respects from every other. In the 
early history of the neighborhood most of the peo- 
ple came from the same neighborhood in Hungary, 
and so transferred the old neighborhood peculiari- 
ties. Brother sent home for brother ; father sent for 
son; son for father. Next came mother or sister 
or other relatives. In the meantime neighbors in 
the old community learned by letter of the land of 
liberty and opportunity and came to be neighbors 
here. 

Neighborhood spirit. — Neighborhood spirit is pe- 
culiarly strong among the Magyars, and usually it 
clusters about the Church. This results in help to 
the church in memory of the home land. Two illus- 
trations will suffice: The Protestant congregation 
in Homestead, Pa., is composed largely of people 
from one county in Hungary (Ungh), but not all of 
the colony belong to the congregation here. The 
neighborhood spirit, however, prompted the people 
to offer to erect an iron fence around the church 
property as a remembrance of the home community. 
It was supposed to cost $400. It really cost $900, 
but was paid for on the day of dedication. All 
things pertaining to a church or church property 
must be dedicated, be it fence or bell or finial to the 
spire. Of course, a dedication is also a day of 
recreation. 

The Magyar colony of Martins Ferry, Ohio, comes 
from another county in Hungary, where different 
customs and a different spirit prevail. Here there 
is not such attachment to the church but more in- 
terest in social community life. This found expres- 
sion in the erection of a Magyar House, which is 
used by the "Benevolent Association and for social 
purposes. The Protestant people or Eoman Cath- 
olic or Greek Catholic alike have the privilege of 
using the hall for religious service on Sunday morn- 
ing, only the brass band may be practicing in an 



CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 67 

adjoining room. Frequent dances and dramatic 
entertainments serve to preserve the old-world com- 
munity spirit. 

The newer colonies are more varied in their per- 
sonnel. They are composed more largely of men 
and women who have come from the older Magyar 
communities in America in order to get better wages 
or better living conditions. Probably the most 
characteristic of such colonies is that of Akron, 
Ohio, which has grown with the rapid growth of the 
city. The result is that there is more Americanism 
manifest, but also more unrest and contention 
among the people. Protestant Ministers, here, 
complain that the people are hard to get along with 
and do not respond readily to the ministrations of 
the church. The Protestant minister observing this 
has done his best to have the people enter Ameri- 
canization classes, and he himself teaches the com- 
munity classes. 

Relation to the old country. — The attachment of 
the Magyar to the homeland is very strong. In an- 
swer to a question as to why this continues in 
America when the people left the homeland because 
of the trying conditions in which they had lived, 
the answer given was: "The Magyar people al- 
ways loved freedom but could not have it because 
of Hapsburg rule and the submission of the nobles 
of Hungary to Hapsburg influences. We have ever 
hoped for freedom and in 1848 almost got it. We 
hope for it still and when we get it we will go home 
to help preserve it." They revere their historic 
heroes with great devotion. Nothing will bring 
them to their feet and invigorate their singing like 
the Magyar national hymn and their folk songs. 
All Magyars in America apologize for their part 
in the World War. They say they were dragged 
into the great war by a pro-Hap sburg government 
against the will of the people; that when the war 



68 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

broke out the Hungarian troops were stationed on 
the western front and the Austrian troops were 
stationed in Hungary for the purpose of suppress- 
ing any revolutionary attempt. Now that the war 
is over and the nation is under a new government 
it is hoped that freedom will be secured and that a 
new day is dawning for the Magyar race. 

Sympathy for the homeland. — All the colonies of 
Magyars in America, through their churches and 
lodges, are showing their sympathy for their suf- 
fering countrymen and relatives by sending home 
very liberal sums of money and by earnest 
endeavors to secure from the League of Nations the 
restoration of the dissevered provinces. We limit 
ourselves here to a brief statement of the liberal 
support they are giving to the war sufferers in the 
homeland. On the occasion of a visit to the Magyar 
Eeformed Congregation in Toledo, 0., during the 
month of February, 1920, we learned that the three 
Religions : Roman Catholic, 1,500 members, Eastern 
Orthodox (Greek), 500 members, and the Reformed, 
500 members, would send home next day the sum of 
$3,333 each, and that by the end of May, they would 
send home $10,000 more. More recently all the 
Magyar colonies in America have sent home large 
sums of money to secure the return of war prisoners 
from Russia. 

Relation to Americans. — Of the Magyars as of all 
immigrants it is true that they keep very much 
aloof from Americans. There are numerous rea- 
sons for this. First, they have their own old-world 
ideas, and being very proud of them as having been 
of the dominant race in the old country, they do not 
freely mingle with Americans. It has been said 
that the Magyars coming through the gateway of 
the nation, Ellis Island, are greatly different from 
other immigrants in that "they show an upstanding, 
independent spirit far above most immigrants.' ' It 



CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 69 

is well to know that they maintain this spirit long 
after they have passed the gateway. In the next 
place, they say they have received hard treatment 
from Americans with whom they have come in con- 
tact both in economic, social, and even religious 
association. And lastly, their pride prompts them 
to live here in full expectation of going home again. 
Only about 15 per cent of them took out naturali- 
zation papers before the war as over against 
33.0 per cent of Slovenians, 24.1 per cent of He- 
brews, and 21.9 per cent of Lithuanians. Why 
should they seek to mingle freely with the Ameri- 
cans, if they did not wish to remain here, and espe- 
cially if the Americans did not wish them either to 
become American or to associate with them. It 
must be borne in mind in this connection that all 
immigrants of the laboring class are unwelcome to 
the American laboring class, and that the higher 
classes in America do not freely associate with the 
laboring classes either foreign or American born. 
Since the war the number of naturalized Magyars 
has reached about 30 per cent (estimated from vary- 
ing figures). 

There was in fact very little done by the Ameri- 
cans before the war to show the foreign-born any 
of the better characteristics of our American society 
in any of its relations. We left them severely alone, 
and they felt it. It is worth noting that where the 
Magyars did come into contact with American life 
they made good. Employing corporations speak 
highly of them. A number of years ago, during 
the time of the great strike at Homestead, Pa., it 
was said of the Magyars, "They did not strike; 
they stopped work after notifying the corporation 
that they wished to quit for their personal safety 
and would come on again as soon as the danger had 
passed.' ' The corporation has ever since then 
taken interest in its Magyar workmen and has 



70 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

favored them in their church work. The citizens 
of the town, too, recognize their readiness to cooper- 
ate in civic improvements. 

Since the war there are also numerous occasions 
when Magyars and Americans have cooperated in 
civic betterment and in religious services. Ex- 
amples of this were enjoyed by the writer about 
two years ago in East Chicago, Indiana Harbor, 
and Whiting, when the Methodist people of Indiana 
Harbor joined with the Magyar Keformed people in 
East Chicago, in an afternoon Americanization serv- 
ice, and the latter returned the compliment in joining 
with the Methodist congregation in the evening in 
a bi-lingual service in Indiana Harbor. It was also 
the writer's privilege to take part in similar serv- 
ices in Lorain, 0., where Magyars and Americans 
joined in Americanization services on Sunday after- 
noon and Sunday evening and ended with a Magyar 
supper in the Magyar schoolroom at which the ad- 
dresses were given by prominent men of the city, 
English and Magyar. At Bridgeport, Conn., a sim- 
ilar occasion was graced by three congregations, 
their pastors and their choirs, the Presbyterian, the 
Congregationalist and the Magyar Eeformed, all in 
the Magyar Church, where the congregation cele- 
brated its twenty -fifth anniversary. 

It is certain that all these occasions aided in bet- 
ter acquaintance and closer association in civic and 
religious affairs in the future. 

Moral standards. — In writing about the moral 
standards of these people in America it is necessary 
to take into consideration the changed conditions in 
which they live. At home 68 per cent of them lived 
on the farms and led the simple life characteristic 
of the country. In America more than 75 per cent 
of them live'in the large cities ; and thev live in the 
foreign section. Magyars have a peculiar love of 
the country and try to enjoy its sights and sounds 



CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 71 

even in the city. Plants and flowers and birds are 
everywhere in evidence in the Magyar colony; but 
in these colonies also are in evidence crowded tene- 
ments and rooms suffocating with the presence of 
boarders. True, the Magyars are not as much given 
to taking lodgers as some other nationalities, being 
the sixth on the list, yet, their rating is that 53.6 
per cent of them keep boarders. In all the unfavor- 
able conditions in which they live, "The percentage 
of domestic infidelity and immorality among Mag- 
yars is not greater than it is among English-speak- 
ing people in the same social status' ' (Roberts — - 
New Immigration, p. 141). It is the general tes- 
timony that the morals of the home are maintained 
in a remarkable degree considering the conditions 
surrounding the home. 

Honesty. — Merchants testify to the honesty of the 
Magyars. A baker in Scottdale, Pa., stated that 
on one occasion during a strike in the coke region 
a Magyar customer disappeared and was not seen 
for more than a year, when he entered the store and 
explained that he had worked in West Virginia and 
could not save enough to come and pay his bill until 
now. The bill was $28.50. Some time later another 
came from a distance to pay a balance of $0.68. 
The comment of the baker was: "Americans don't 
come back." The testimony of employers is that 
Magyars do an honest day's work for fair wages. 

Drinking. — Probably the most serious vice among 
the Magyars is drinking, but this, too, is more an 
American than a Magyar product. It is well known 
in western Pennsylvania, that until prohibition went 
into effect the whisky agent and the beer agent can- 
vassed the foreign colony at stated times and took 
orders which were delivered to the home and to the 
boardi-no- honcse on Saturday afternoon. There is 
not much difference between fifteen .Ampricans sit- 
ting around beer kegs on Sunday afternoon at 4 



72 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

o'clock or the same number of Magyars. The kegs 
will be empty and the men will be full. Worse even 
than this was the fact that boarding-house keepers 
got a percentage for the use of a large supply of 
beer and so young men who abstained were soon 
told to get board and lodging elsewhere. Saloon 
men tried in every way to cultivate the habit. Dan 

was a saloon man in a large city. When the 

new pastor came from Hungary, Dan told him the 
best place to become acquainted with his parish- 
ioners was the saloon. The young minister accepted 
the advice, till he found himself taken in to drink 
and to gamble away his salary. It needs to be said 
that the young minister got his eyes opened in time 
to save himself from ruin. The liquor traffic is 
banned, but the evil remains though the Magyar 
ministers and the prominent men among them are 
lighting the illicit traffic. The first Magyar book on 
Temperance was written by Eev. Dr. A. Harsany, of 
Homestead, Pa. 

Regard for law. — Little wonder if the Magyars 
with other nationalities, have small regard for 
American laws. At home they were under strict 
restraints and were severely punished for infraction 
of law. Here they escape punishment by giving a 
bribe, or they lose respect for the officers of the law 
because they are not fairly dealt with. A constable 
in a small town had brought in a Magyar to the 
office of the squire charged with fighting. The 
charge was established; the man was fined $5 and 
costs; the bill was $9.50. When the constable saw 
him take a $20 bill out of his pocket he told the 
squire to add $10 to the bill. 

Morals of the children: the second generation. — 
In common with all alien people the Magyars have 
great difficulty in maintaining the morals of their 
children. Parents are likely to lose the control of 
their children when they reach the age of self sup- 



CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 73 

port. Girls hire out in families and usually adopt 
the style of living and the habits of their employers. 
They no longer obey father and mother. Boys go 
to the mill or the mine and swagger and carouse 
with the proceeds of their labor. Much credit is, 
however, due these parents for instilling into their 
children much of moral and religious instruction, 
which safeguards their morals. It is safe to say 
that the children of the Magyar people know more 
about the requirements of the moral law than do the 
average of American children of the same age. 

John Lengyel had a general store in the coke town 
of Trauger, Pa. Some years ago he entertained the 
superintendent of missions on Sunday. The near- 
est Sunday School was a mile away along a country 
road. This was John's excuse for not sending the 
children. John resented the suggestion that his 
children were losing very necessary religious in- 
struction. He called them, four in number, from 
the kitchen into the sitting room and had them 
stand in line to recite the Lord's Prayer; the Apos- 
tles' Creed; the Ten Commandments; the Twenty- 
third Psalm ; the Beatitudes, and then they sang the 
Twenty-third Psalm all in Hungarian. With a 
twinkle in his eye, he asked, "Does it matter in what 
language we know these things! Can the Ameri- 
can children of their age, from 5 to 10, do any 
better?" Frankly, they cannot. "Who taught 
them!" John answered, "Mother and I, on Sun- 
day afternoon." 

In addition to this home instruction, the Magyar 
children are sent to the minister for from four to 
six weeks' instruction in the teachings and duties 
of their religion. But they need it all and more, 
for the work they will do when men, the conditions 
surrounding them, and the temptations assailing 
them will, if anything, be more seductive than is the 
experience of the American-born child. Magyar 



74 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

pastors testify that comparatively few of their 
young people make moral shipwreck; but they 
lament that so many of them become negligent of 
their religious duties and spend Sunday in the park, 
on the auto journey, or in the socialists ' club. To 
hold them to the church they encourage special 
meetings for young people and permit them to have 
entertainments in the school-room of the church on 
Sunday evenings. 

Care of the Orphans in America. — No people care 
better for children than do the Magyars. No people 
are more kindly disposed toward orphans. Hith- 
erto, however, the Magyar orphans in America were 
cared for either in the homes of kindly disposed 
friends or neighbors or they were sent to American 
orphans' homes to be cared for by the general 
benevolence of the American people or the liberal- 
ity of the churches maintaining such homes. When, 
however, the Magyar people had done so much for 
the war orphans in Hungary, they also determined 
to establish an orphans' home for the needy children 
without parents in this country. 

The task was undertaken by the Federation of 
Eeformed and Presbyterian Benevolent Societies in 
the spring of 1921. This organization purchased 
a fine summer hotel on the mountainside at Ligonier, 
Pa. The location is ideal, the outlook across the 
valley is magnificent. The building is compara- 
tively new, having been erected only eight years 
ago. The grounds are large and a good spring of 
mountain water is near the building. 

The superintendent and his family are very well 
qualified for the position they occupy. Eev. Dr. 
Alex. Kalassay came to America more than 25 
years ago and for about 18 vears was pastor of the 
oldest Eeformed Magvar Church in America, ill 
Pittsburgh, Pa. For the last 15 years he had been 
President of the Western Classis of the Hungarian 



CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 75 

Reformed Church in America. The call of the 
orphans was clear enough and strong enough for 
him to leave his congregation and take up this new 
work. 

There are now only about 40 orphans in the 
home, but the number is increasing every month 
and no doubt before the first year of the home's 
history is completed it will be filled to capacity, 
about 100 children. No activity of the Magyar peo- 
ple in America is eliciting so much enthusiasm as 
the orphans ' home, so its future is well assured. 

Organizations. — Magyar people have a genius for 
organization. There are besides the great benevo- 
lent associations in connection with the churches 
and mentioned elsewhere in this " study' ' about 60 
organizations, located largely in our cities of the 
industrial zone but in reality spread out all over 
the country. The objects for which they exist are 
"too numerous to mention,' ' but a statement of a 
few will serve to show their variety. Among them 
are numerous social organizations ; a number of so- 
cieties evidently intended to perpetuate Hungarian 
patriotism; a few educational societies; some ath- 
letic associations ; many industrial and trade socie- 
ties and possibly several Soviet organizations judg- 
ing from the names they bear. Most of them seem 
to be flourishing and serving well the purpose of 
their creation. 

It would be interesting to characterize them in 
detail, but this is impossible because of the very 
nature of such societies, whether English or Mag- 
yar. Because they are all more or less exclusive 
we content ourselves by referring the reader to lists 
published by the Inter-Racial Council. 

The reports from the officers of the three most 
prominent Benevolent Societies show that they have 
representatives in various places as follows: 

(1) The Reformatus Egysulet (Reformed Benev- 



76 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

olent Federation), of which Alex. Covier of Johns- 
town, Pa., is president, and Stephan Molnar of 
Toledo is secretary-treasurer, reports 7,500 mem- 
bers, residing in 189 different localities. Since this 
society admits to its membership only Protestant 
Magyars it is no doubt represented in much the 
same localities as the Verhovoy, which admits Mag- 
yars without distinction of religious affiliation. 

(2) The Verhovoy, with 25,000 members, has rep- 
resentatives in 329 places. 

(3) The Bridgeport Hungarian Federation has 
7,000 members. 

LITERATURE 

Newspapers. — There are 68 Magyar newspapers 
and magazines published in this country, not count- v 
ing a number of parochial papers published by Mag- 
yar ministers and priests. 

The list includes secular papers in the following 
cities: New York City, 11; Cleveland, 5; Detroit, 
5; Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Chicago, 3 each; New- 
ark, N. J., New Brunswick, N. J., South Bend, Ind., 
Bridgeport, Conn., and Youngstown, O., 2 each; 
Akron, Cincinnati, Martins Ferry and Lorain, O., 
Trenton and Passaic, N. J., Philadelphia, Hazleton, 
Bethlehem and Johnstown, Pa., Los Angeles and 
Oakland, Cal, St. Louis, Mo., and Hammond, La., 
1 each. 

Of these three are great dailies — the Sabadzag 
of Cleveland and the Nepseva and Elore of New 
York. Most of the others are weeklies. Some are 
general newspapers, others are trade journals and 
one at least, the Dongo, is a comic paper. 

The three great dailies run high in the newspaper 
world both for the reliability of their news and for 
the talented manner in which it is presented. Of 
many of the other papers it must be said, as by a 



CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 77 

friendly writer concerning newspapers in Hungary : 
"They leave much to be desired," both as to matter 
and appearance. Editors should use more discrim- 
ination in accepting articles and should use the 
scissors more freely in editing them. The pages of 
many Magyar papers in America lend themselves 
too readily to unseemly and unprofitable contro- 
versy. This, at least, is the general criticism of 
their Magyar constituency. 

There are 12 religious papers — two each in Tren- 
ton, N. J., Wallingf ord, Conn., and McKeesport, Pa. ; 
one each in Pittsburgh and Bethlehem, Pa., Brook- 
field, HI., Wallingford, Conn., St. Paul, Minn., and 
Cleveland, 0. One is Seventh Day Adventist, one 
Eoman Catholic, three Baptist, one Lutheran, one 
Presbyterian and Keformed Church in the U. S., 
Hungarian Churches of Trenton, N. J., one, Hun- 
garian Reformed Church in U. S., one, Hungarian 
Reformed Church in America, one, and two are in- 
dependent. (See Appendix II.) 

The editors say the character of the paper is 
largely due to the inclination of ministers and other 
professional men to publish a paper of their own 
if their contributions are not published as they send 
them in or as early as they desire. There is a scar- 
city of Magyar ministers in America, but there seems 
to be a superabundance of editors. It is well known 
that the refusal to publish an article is followed by 
criticism of the paper and lack of interest in it, and 
frequently the publication of a personal paper. Too 
often this places the editor between Scylla and 
Charybdis. Either he must yield to the whims of 
his contributors or must see his circulation decrease. 
He may leave his chair to a successor and then he 
is likely to cease his endeavors in behalf of the 
publication. 



Chapter V 
RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 

(a) CHUECH WORK AMONG THE MAGYARS 

Religious distribution. — From the tables on pages 
39, 40 a fairly accurate judgment may be formed 
concerning the distribution on arrival here of our 
Magyar population, between Catholics and Prot- 
estants, and between Evangelicals and non-Evan- 
gelicals. 

Readers are referred to those tables rather than 
r6"P6&tin2" them here. 

The Census of 1920 reports 268,112 foreign-born 
Magyars in the United States and 205,426 native- 
born, total 473,538. According to the foregoing 
percentages the Magyars in the United States are 
divided as follows: 

Roman Catholics 284,122 

Reformed 113,649 

Jews 47,969 

Eastern Orthodox 11,364 

Lutherans (Evangelical) 5,682 

Unitarians 3,220 

Baptists, Presbyterians and others 7,489 

The only sources of information regarding the 
work American Churches are doing among the Mag- 
yars in America are the reports of the respective 
Mission Boards and Associations. From these we 
learn the following facts: 

The first Mission Board to take up mission work 
for the Magyar people was that of the Reformed 
Church in the United States, which began its work 
July 1st, 1891, in Pittsburgh, Pa., Rev. John Kovacs, 

78 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 79 

pastor, and in Cleveland, O., January 1, 1891, Kev. 
Gustav Jurassy, pastor. Its work grew apace till 
1903, when it had 17 organized congregations with 
about 1,800 communicant members ; in addition there 
were about 15 filials, or outlying preaching places. 

The Presbyterian Church in the United States of 
America had also begun work in 1900, and by 1903 
had several preaching places and organized congre- 
gations. It has now (1922) 30 organized churches 
and 16 Missions. 

A new denomination came into this work in 1903. 
Up to this time the Eeformed Church of Hungary 
did no mission work for her children in America, 
but as their number was rapidly increasing by im- 
migration, the Church of Hungary saw the impor- 
tance of beginning such work. The nucleus for it 
came from the Eeformed and Presbyterian mis- 
sions; the Eeformed Church giving up seven con- 
gregations and the Presbyterian Church five, to the 
new organization. 

In 1920 this church had 46 congregations and over 
9,000 members, the largest element in Magyar 
Protestant church life in America. Unfortunately 
the division of the Magyar people into these several 
branches resulted in considerable friction and hind- 
rance of the real work of a church. Some of the 
congregations formerly belonging to the Eeformed 
and Presbyterian churches seceded to join the 
church of their fathers. 

The Baptist Church is very active and is doing a 
very commendable work among the Magyar people, 
having 20 organized churches and 25 Missions. The 
Baptists lead in supplying Magyar literature. Other 
churches doing good work are the Presbyterian 
Church (U.S.), the Eeformed Church in America, 
and the Lutheran and Protestant Episcopal 
Churches, until now as we gather the reports they 
are as follows: 



80 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

Reformed Church in the 

U. S 42 15 7,459 4,035 

Reformed Church in 

America 2 3 144 86 

Presbyterian Church, U. 

S. A 31 14 3,370 1,828 

Presbyterian Church, U. 

S 3 17 326 113 

Lutheran Church 7 5 957 300 

Baptist Church (N) .... 20 25 1,200 1,650 

Protestant Episcopal 

Church 10 .. 1,387 

Independent Magyar Re- 
formed Church in 

America 6 1,375 1,400 

The reasons for the situation in America are 
easily found in the fact that the older denominations 
receive them on their declaration of having been 
members of the Reformed Church of Hungary, and 
thus receive them in groups or colonies, while the 
newer denominations usually require a personal re- 
newal or declaration of faith. 

The churches first mentioned are well-known by 
the Magyar people at home. The Reformed Church 
in Hungary is claimed to be the largest Reformed 
Church on the continent. Its history dates back to 
the times of the Reformation. This allies them to 
the Reformed Churches in America. It is a sig- 
nificant fact that the Reformed Church in the United 
States received every congregation by request of 
the Magyar people themselves. The same may 
probably be said of the Presbyterian and Lutheran 
Churches. 




OFFICERS 



OF A BENEFICIAE SOCIETY. LORRAINE, OHIO. 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 81 

The doctrinal teaching of the Church in Hungary 
is Calvinistic, and so the people when they come to 
America readily ally themselves with the Presby- 
terian Church. Again there is a very considerable 
number of Magyar Protestant people in Hungary, 
especially in Transylvania, who, though Magyar in 
language, are the descendents of German people 
who came to Hungary early in the history of 
Protestantism, and who are now Evangelical (Lu- 
theran) and naturally affiliate with the Lutheran 
Church in America. 

It is, of course, a question as to which method is 
preferable. By the former method a much larger 
proportion of a group or colony is kept under the 
influence of the Gospel; under the latter there is 
probably attained a higher degree of Protestant 
Evangelical Christianity in the smaller congrega- 
tion. Sure it is that the churches to which the Mag- 
yar people have come in groups should hold them- 
selves responsible for the higher attainment of the 
entire group and should spare neither effort or ex- 
pense to prevent any of them from wandering out 
into the world to be gathered in one by one after 
they have wandered away. Even now there are 
distressing losses from the fold. 

It needs to be remembered, too, that it is the cus- 
tom of most Magyar congregations to count only 
the heads of families as members. This indicates 
that possibly half of the Protestant Magyars attend 
churches and contribute occasionally to their sup- 
port. Reliable authorities say there are now^ in 
America about 110 Protestant ministers working 
among these people in about 125 different localities. 
Much work remains yet to be done for these worthy 
people. 

In the pages immediately following will be found 
lists of Magyar Churches, by denominations, in the 
United States. A study of these lists will be very 



82 



THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 







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STATISTICS OF MAGYAR BAPTIST CHURCHES AND 
MISSIONS: ORGANIZED CHURCHES (1922) 

Members Adherents 

First Hungarian Baptist Church, Akron, 

Ohio, Rev. G. Kecskes, 930 Grand St. . . 16 25 

First Hungarian Baptist Church, Bridge- 
port, Conn., Rev. S. Gazsi, 149 Ash St. . . 93 40 

First Hungarian Baptist Church, Buffalo, N. 

Y., Rev. J. Botka, 350 Austin St 45 25 

First Hungarian Baptist Church, Cleveland, 

Ohio, Rev. M. Biro 152 50 

West Side Hungarian Baptist Church, 
Cleveland, 0., Rev. J. Matuskovits, 6008 
Chatham 66 30 

Second Hungarian Baptist Church, Cleve- 
land, O., Rev. Wm. Dauda, Cor. 118 & 
Buckeye Rd 72 25 

Hungarian Baptist Church, Dante, Va., 

Rev. L. Yoo, Box 54 15 15 

Hungarian Baptist Church, Detroit, Mich., 
Rev. F. S. Fazekas 66 30 

Hungarian Baptist Church, Granite City, 

111., without pastor 10 10 

First Hungarian Baptist Church, McKees- 
port, Pa., Rev. L. Stumpf, 139 Diamond 
Ave 40 20 

Hungarian Baptist Church, New Castle, Pa., 

Rev. S. Bertalan 45 25 

First Hungarian Baptist Church, New York, 

N. Y., Rev. W. Dulitz, 225 E. 80th St. . . 109 40 

First Hungarian Baptist Church, Perth 
Amboy, N. J., Rev. S. Balogh, 375 Law- 
rence St 53 25 

First Hungarian Baptist Church, Philadel- 
phia, Pa., Rev. M. Majorcsak, 1410 Ran- 
dolph 30 20 

First Hungarian Baptist Church, Scranton, 

Pa., Rev. G. Gogolyak, 1214 Philo St. ... 15 10 

First Magyar Baptist Church, Trenton, N. 

J., Rev. A. Toth, 2343 Wm. St 52 30 

First Hungarian Baptist Church, Home- 
stead, Pa., Rev. Arthur Stumpf, 149 
Fourth Ave 40 20 

First Hungarian Baptist Church, Walling- 



86 



THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 



ford, Conn., Rev. M. Szilagyi, 50 Pros- 
pect St 32 15 

First Hungarian Baptist Church, West Pull- 
man, 111., Rev. A. Petre, 11803 Emerald 
Ave 63 25 

First Hungarian Baptist Church, Elyria, 

Ohio, Rev. L. Revcsz, 403 W. River St. . . 32 25 

Hungarian Baptist Church, Harrisburg Pa., 
Damian Iovan 

Cincinnati, 

E. St. Louis 



Total 



1,046 



505 



STATISTICS OF MAGYAR BAPTIST CHURCHES AND 
MISSIONS: MISSIONS 



Members Adherents 
Canton, Ohio, Rev. J. Kovach, Harrisburg 

Rd. 17 15 

E. Chicago, Ind., Rev. E. Revy, 3247 Mell- 

ville Ave 30 15 

E. Hammond, Ind., Rev. E. Revy, 3247 Mell- 

ville Ave 

Gary, Ind., Rev. E. Revy, 3247 Mellville 

Ave 

Dayton, Ohio, Rev. F. Ver 14 15 

Lorain, Ohio, Rev. L. Revcsz, 403 W. River 

St., Elyria, O 

Flint, Mich., without pastor 6 15 

Lansing 

H. Park, Detroit, Mich., Rev. P. F. Schill- 
ing, 605 Wheeland Ave 

Irwin, Pa., Rev. M. Biro, 139 Diamond St. 
Duquesne, Pa., Rev. M. Biro, 139 Diamond 

St 

New Brighton, Pa., Rev. S. Bertolan, New 

Castle, Pa 

Ellwood City, Pa., Rev. S. Bertolan, New 

Castle, Pa 

Ward, West Va., Rev. N. Dulitz, 225 E. 

80th St., New York 

Brooklvn, N. Y., Rev. N. Dulitz, 225 E. 80th 

St., New York 

Ogdensburg, N. J., Rev. N. Dulitz, 225 E. 

80th St., New York 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 87 

Franklin Furnace, N. J., Rev. N. Dulitz, 225 
E. 80th St., New York 

Chrome, N. J., Rev. S. Balogh, Perth Am- 
boy, N. J 

Berwick, Pa., Rev. G. G. Gogolyak, Scran- 
ton, Pa 

Youngstown, Ohio, Chas. Bamayai 27 15 

Sharon, Pa., Chas. Bamayai 

So. Norwalk, Conn., Rev. M. Szilagyi, Wall- 
ingf ord, Conn 

Roda, Va., Rev. L. Yoo, Dante, Va 

Martins Ferry, 0., without pastor 35 20 

Rayland, Ohio, without pastor 

St. Paul, Minn., Rev. A. Kandler 25 20 

Buffalo, N. Y., Jos. Botka 

Chicago, 111., Stephen Groza 

Chicago, 111., Albert Paxte 

Garfield, N. J., N. Kovacs 

New Brunswick, N. J., J. S. Fazekas 

Total 154 115 

Total members and adherents 1,200 620 



STATISTICS OF MAGYAR MISSIONS OF THE 

REFORMED CHURCH IN THE U. S. (1922) 

S.S. 

Congregation — Minister Members Members 

Akron, Ohio, Rev. Arpad Bakay 110 60 

Ashtabula, Ohio, Rev. Eugene Vecsey 100 65 

Bridgeport, Conn., Rev. Alex Ludman 420 350 

Bridgeport, Conn., Rev. Komjathy 200 165 

Buffalo, N. Y., Rev. Andrew Urban 95 56 

Chicago, 111., Rev. Eugene Boros 316 175 

Cleveland, Ohio, Rev. Alex Csutoros 332 175 

Cleveland, Ohio, Rev. Alex Toth 750 375 

Columbus, Ohio, Rev. Julius Hanko 151 58 

Conneaut, Ohio, Rev. Eugene Vecsey 50 24 

Dayton, Ohio, Rev. John Azary 212 145 

Detroit, Mich., Rev. Michael Toth 550 350 

Drakes-Congo, Rev. Alex Radacsi 84 30 

East Chicago, Ind., Rev. 189 150 

Elyria, Ohio, Rev. A. S. Kalassay, Jr 126 75 

Fairport, Ohio, Rev. Charles J. Krivulka ... 75 46 



88 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

Flint, Mich., Rev. Beni Jozsa 95 40 

Gary, Ind., Rev. Alex Mircse 112 46 

Holsopple, Pa., Rev. John B. Szeghy 30 15 

Homestead, Pa., Rev. Samuel Horvath 350 95 

Johnstown, Pa., Rev. Ernest Porzsoldt 115 40 

Kalamazoo, Mich., Rev. Stephen Virag 45 40 

Kearsarge, Mich., Rev. 45 

Lorain, "Ohio, Rev. Francis Ujlaki 280 193 

McKeesport, Pa., Rev. Julius Melegh 210 90 

New Haven, Conn., Rev. Alex Ludman .... 26 

New York, N. Y., Rev. Geza Takaro 485 140 

Northampton, Pa., Rev. 28 

Passaic, N. J., Rev. Ladislaus Tegze 238 39 

Pittsburgh, Pa., Rev. Edmund Vasvary 300 130 

Pocahontas, W. Va., Rev. Andrew Kovacs 45 22 

South Bethlehem, Pa., Rev. Emil Nagy 130 170 

South Chicago, 111., Rev. Rudolph Pompl ... 90 25 

South Norwalk, Conn., Rev. Gabriel Dokus . . 220 140 

Springdale, Pa., Rev. 51 38 

Toledo, Ohio., Rev. Louis Bogar 426 251 

Tonawanda, N. Y., Rev. Andrew Urban 32 18 

Torrington, Conn., Rev. Alex Ludman 22 

Uniontown, Pa., Rev. Andor Harsanyi 22 12 

Wallingford, Conn., Rev. Bela Kovacs 50 46 

Whiting, Ind., Rev. 63 40 

Windber, Pa., Rev. Bela Kerekes 130 72 

Woodbridge, N. J., Rev. Frank Kovacs 53 34 



Total 7,459 4,035 



MAGYAR CHURCHES AND MISSION STATIONS OF THE 
REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA 

Organized Churches 

Peekskill, N. Y., Rev. L. S. H. Hamory, Peekskill 90 51 

Manville, N. J., Rev. Andrew Kosa, Manville 54 35 

Mission Stations 

Hudson, N. Y., Rev. L. S. H. Hamory 

East Kingston, N. Y., Rev. L. S. H. Hamory 

Roseton, N. Y., Rev. L. S. H. Hamory (a brick 
yard near Newburgh) 



informing, because they will show not only where 
the various denominations are working, but how far 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 89 

they are cooperating, and whether any localities 
where Magyars are numerous are being neglected. 

So far as can be learned from the Magyar relig- 
ious papers there are in America 46 Koman Catho- 
lic congregations, and about 200 Protestant con- 
gregations. The ReformdtusoJc Lapja is authority 
for the statement that there are 72 Protestant min- 
isters in this country. The above estimate of Prot- 
estant congregations assumes that each ministeron 
an average serves two congregations. According 
to the same authority, the Eoman Catholic congre- 
gations are located by States as follows: 

MAGYAR ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES 
State Places 

New York Buffalo, Lackawanna, New York City. 

New Jersey Alpha, Newark, New Brunswick, Passaic, Perth 
Amboy, Roebling, South River, and Trenton. 

Connecticut Bridgeport and South Norwalk. 

Pennsylvania Allentown, Connellsville, Farrell, Johnstown, 
Leechburg, McAdoo, McKeesport, Northampton, 
Palmerton, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, South Beth- 
lehem, Trauger, Throop, and Windber. 

Illinois Chicago. 

Indiana East Chicago, Gary, and South Bend. 

Minnesota St. Paul. 

Virginia Pocahontas. 



(b) MAGYAR REFORMED CHURCHES 

Having been accustomed to large churches in the 
homeland, the Magyar people in America strain 
every resource to have fine churches. They are 
seldom erected in the midst of the community in 
which early Magyar settlers located, but usually in 
the most prominent location in the city or village. 
The plan is similar to that of churches at home; 



90 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

usually rectangular, with a high steeple in front 
and the chancel and pulpit at the far end. The 
structure will be two stories in height, the main 
auditorium being on the second floor, and intended 
to serve for purely religious services only. No 
money will be spared in its ornamentation, its ap- 
pointments and its furniture. It is the delight of 
the members of the congregation, men and women, 
to contribute something for its ornamentation. 
Stained glass windows are usually contributed by 
congregations from other cities, by the Benevolent 
Society of the congregation, — seldom by a family of 
the congregation. Families and individuals will 
find opportunity to give other things, such as a fam- 
ily pew; a hymn board; a pulpit; covers for the 
pulpit or for the communion table; or even a pipe 
organ. They may also contribute for the outside 
adornment of the church; a bell or even a finial for 
the spire. Every one wishes to give something. 
The result is that sometimes incongruous things find 
their way to the church, such as bouquets of paper 
flowers, pulpit covers of inharmonious colors. The 
most interesting small gifts are the contributions 
of the women, which consist most frequently of 
covers for the Communion table. These are always 
appreciated because they represent the handiwork of 
the donor. They may be of rich white silk as richly 
embroidered; or rich lace covers two yards square 
which represent a year of the donor's spare time to 
make. Being appreciated as they are, they are all 
used on every occasion, so that the chalice plates 
and cups at the service are usually covered with 
from four to eight of them. 

Church business meetings. — Business meetings of 
all sorts are held in the basement of the church; it 
is not so sacred as the auditorium. It is well such 
meetings are held in the basement, for they some- 
times become boisterous. If it is an election that is 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 91 

being held, the nominations will be made vive voce 
and there will be a right and a left as clearly marked 
as in the Parliament in the home land. The nom- 
inee of one side will be freely characterized by some 
speaker on the other and will in turn be answered 
by the proposer of the name. The nominee will be 
present and will likely resent the uncomplimentary 
remarks made about him and may even refuse the 
nomination because of them. "All right; that 
leaves the way open to nominate some one from the 
other side." 

Entertainments. — Where there is no community 
house the basement of the church is used for enter- 
tainments. In most cases they consist of dramatic 
performances and are given by the young people 
of the congregation. These are both interesting 
and helpful to the young people. The preparation 
for the entertainment brings them to the church two 
or three evenings of the week, where they rehearse 
under the direction of the pastor or some other 
responsible person. The audience to whom the en- 
tertainment is given consists of the members of the 
congregation and their friends. Any one is ad- 
mitted, but during the time of preparation the per- 
formers have sold tickets for reserved seats ( ?) so 
that late comers must stand. If there is neither 
business nor entertainment to bring the people to 
the church during the week, the pastors encourage 
their men to come to the basement for a social eve- 
ning which is spent in conversation, debate, games 
and smoking. If there are any churches in America 
which as a rule make the church a social center more 
constantly than the Magyar Reformed Churches we 
should like to hear from them. 

Old country church methods retained. — Not only 
old-country faiths, but also the customs of the 
people in which these faiths find expression are 
continued in America. Magyar Reformed congre- 



92 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

gations in America are organized after the type 
prevailing in Hungary. The people elect their 
officers and pastor. The officers are all ordained 
and installed as elders, but each is designated to 
some special duty. The chief elder is called the 
Curator, who acts for the congregation and the 
"Presbyterium" official board in all business af- 
fairs, and is also to stand by and assist the pastor 
in the more spiritual duties of an elder. Other 
elders are elected secretary, treasurer, and collect- 
ors. The collectors are to gather all the funds 
needed for the support of the congregation. This 
official body divides the entire community and even 
the vicinity into collection districts which are visited 
by the appointed collector regularly once or twice 
a month, according to the frequency of " pay-day,' * 
to receive the money of the members. In addition 
to these funds the people give an offering in the 
Lord's Day services. For a number of years all 
persons who contributed at any time during the year 
were counted regular members. Since, however, this 
resulted in confusion and frequent contentions, most 
of the Magyar congregations now either use the en- 
velope system of monthly payments and count as 
members only those who contribute regularly. Spe- 
cial offerings are given at every festival service, 
and, we may add, even at weddings held in church 
during the week, the last named offering being for 
the use of the church. 

Pastor's salary. — The pastor's salary is usually 
fixed at so much per month together with the use 
of the parsonage. In addition to this he, however, 
gets rather liberal perquisites (Stola) the amounts 
of which are designated by the official board; so 
much for a baptism, for a wedding, for a funeral, 
or for some other specified duty of the minister. 
There is considerable dissatisfaction among the peo- 
ple with reference to this custom, because the 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA gs 

minister is the chief beneficiary and is sometimes 
supposed to receive or even charge unduly for his 
services, especially in outlying districts. The min- 
isters, themselves, are discouraging the custom and 
asking for a sufficient support in a specified salary. 
The average salary of the Magyar minister cannot 
be exactly estimated because of the "Stola" sys- 
tem, but the Magyar people desire their ministers 
to live well and provide liberally for their needs. 
A general estimate is that the salary should be 
$1,500, parsonage and the "Stola." 

The Lord's Day services are of peculiar interest. 
The people are unusually devout. All are attentive 
and take part in the services. The singing, consist- 
ing of Psalms, is remarkable for the choral music 
used and for the volume of voice with which every 
one sings. The congregation stands during the 
reading of Scripture. It is the voice of God and 
calls for this attitude on the part of the people. 
They also stand during prayer. Offerings are usu- 
ally very liberal, amounting frequently to an aver- 
age of from 50 to 75 cents per attendant. 

The minister. — The minister in the Eeformed 
Churches of Hungary appears before his people 
during the singing of the first psalm, wearing the 
"Palast," a cape extending from the shoulders to 
the feet. He uses a liturgical order of service with 
an occasional prayer prepared and written by him- 
self. The sermon is based on some scripture 
passage rather than on a text, as is the custom 
among American ministers; and usually applies to 
some present-day subject. Before the Great War 
there were frequent references to the aspirations 
of the Magyar nation ; since then there is more fre- 
quent reference to the sufferings of the people and 
the comforts of the scriptures. There are also more 
frequent references to Americanization and the need 
of help from the American Christian Churches. 



94 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

In making these comments it is of course under- 
stood that the various phases of thought and doc- 
trine which prevail in America according to denom- 
ination and school, prevail still more among the 
Magyar ministers according to the measure in which 
they have studied American conditions and the 
teachings of American theological schools. 

Catechisation. — The Magyar Protestant congrega- 
tions and ministers deserve much credit for the 
faithful and effective instruction they give the chil- 
dren before they are admitted into all the privileges 
and burdened with all the responsibilities of church 
membership. Classes for this purpose are con- 
ducted every year and frequently twice a year for a 
period of from two to three months, during which 
they are taught the doctrines of the church, the 
psalms and hymns, the occasional prayers for the 
home and for the personal use of the individual on 
entering or leaving the church, etc., and also a num- 
ber of Bible stories and Bible history. 

Vacation Bible Schools. — In addition to the in- 
struction by the pastor there are Vacation Bible 
Schools conducted each summer during the time of 
public-school vacation for the religious instruction 
of the young. These are in session for two months 
for five hours a day. The instruction is given by 
young students. Magyar Deaconesses give special 
attention to the welfare of the second generation. 
Magyar families, like all immigrant families, live 
in surroundings where this is especially necessary. 
The only playground in most Magyar communities 
is the village or city street. In mining communities 
these are mostly muddy lanes during the greater 
part of the year, so that under the most favorable 
weather condition, it is difficult to keep the children 
reasonably clean. The homes from which they come 
are often so crowded with boarders and the mother 
so busy caring for them that the children do not 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 95 

receive due attention. A first duty of the deaconess 
is to encourage the mother and in many instances 
help her take proper care of her children. Nat- 
urally she tries to persuade the mother to have less 
boarders and give more time to the children. The 
result is the opposition of the father to the efforts of 
the deaconess. 

The alternative is to have either classes for the 
little ones who do not go to school or to have school 
for all children on Saturday in which sanitation, 
cleanliness and order are taught together with sing- 
ing and needlework to the girls, the result is again 
that parents object to the suggestions of their own 
children. The vacation schools are therefore the 
most effective method of teaching them, for this the 
parents want for the sake of the relief it gives the 
mother for the time being of the care of the children. 

Deaconesses. — Magyar ministers, unless they have 
been taught in an American Seminary, know little 
of family visitation, except when called to the fam- 
ily in time of sickness, and this is seldom done. 
They even say such visitation on their part is not 
desirable and not effective, because the men are 
away from home during the day and the women too 
busy to receive a call from the pastor. Here the 
deaconess is most effective if she works under the 
instruction of the pastor and reports to him daily. 
The women welcome her for two reasons; because 
she is willing to lend a helping hand as may be 
needed and because she lightens the monotony of 
their lives with her Christian encouragement. The 
result of such work is noticeable on the adults, but 
more especially on the children, who are encouraged 
to love the deaconess and to attend church and Sun- 
dav school. 

Deaconess work is not yet accepted by many of 
the Magyar congregations, for the reason that a 
deaconess trained according to the old-world custom 



96 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

cannot well adapt herself to American conditions 
and a deaconess trained in America is not likely to 
be in full accord with the minister and his methods 
for her work. Indications are, however, that dea- 
coness work among the Magyar people can be made 
very effective for the welfare of the women and for 
the safety of the second generation. 

Unfortunately the deaconess is exposed to several 
hindrances and difficulties in her work. She is not 
only hindered by the opposition of the head of the 
family, but being a sort of intermediary between 
the family and the pastor, she is too often made the 
bearer of complaints about the pastor and his treat- 
ment of the people. The pastor, of course, resents 
this to such an extent that recently in a meeting of 
pastors action was taken against the employment 
of deaconesses, of course, forgetting that it is easier 
to legislate in America than to pacify a discontented 
people. 

The difficulties involved can be illustrated by a 
deaconess employed by one of the Reformed Magyar 
missions. She is the daughter of an efficient Mag- 
yar minister in Hungary and therefore understands 
the European conditions. When stationed in an 
American manufacturing city she visited the fami- 
lies and sought to help the women and children to 
more cleanly and sanitary living. The women 
claimed they were too busy to do as requested 
because of the numerous boarders they had to care 
for. Of course, the deaconess advised the keeping 
of less boarders. The consequence was that the 
man requested the pastor and his "presbyterium" 
to dismiss the deaconess. 

"Curators." — The ministers are not the only re- 
ligious leaders among the Magyar churches. The 
curators are to be reckoned with both by the minis- 
ter and by the members of the congregation. In 
civil life the curator is usually the community 




NIGHT SCHOOL MAINTAINED FOR ADULTS (STUDYING ENGLISH) 




PRESENT BUILDING OF OLDEST MAGYAR CHURCH IN AMERICA, ORGANIZED 
MAY 1890, EAST SIDE, CLEVELAND, OHIO. 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 97 

leader. He may be a merchant, or a foreign ex- 
change banker. He has been in several exceptional 
cases a saloon-keeper. There are many excellent 
men serving as curators, for they are usually the 
more intelligent men who are looked up to by their 
fellow-members of the church, but they, too, are the 
victims of their surroundings. Either their prom- 
inence and influence becomes a thorn in the flesh of 
the minister, or in some cases the minister and cu- 
rator join their efforts in limiting the freedom of 
the people. The curator is practically the head of 
the congregation for the time being. It is the 
opinion of the writer that it were much better if 
the Magyar churches would adopt the custom of 
the American churches and have an equality of eld- 
ers, all serving as advisers to the pastor rather than 
one man to hold the office. 

(c) THE VALLEY OF DECISION 

It was but natural that during the war the Mag- 
yars in America should be feverishly sensitive to 
influences from the homeland, and that they should 
also chafe under restraints in America. Their 
temperament, their nationalistic attachment, their 
patriotism, their anxiety for friends, brothers, aged 
parents, all contributed to make them so. Compar- 
atively few of them had become American citizens 
and even in those who had been naturalized the old 
flame of Magyar patriotism was rekindled. 

During the earlier part of the war, like their fel- 
low Magyars at home, they considered the war a 
defensive conflict against the Balkan Slavs on the 
south and the Russian Slavs on the north of them 
between whom they were in danger of being 
crushed. Well might they look to Austria and to 
Germany for deliverance. Later in the conflict, 
when it was clearly seen that Germany's world am- 



98 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

bition was her motive for entering the war, the 
Magyars found that the course of this ambition lay 
right across their fertile plains and along their 
beautiful rivers. Toward the close of the war the 
Magyars felt that their would-be friends, Austria 
and Germany, were sacrificing them for their own 
ambitions. Finally came the Versailles Treaty and 
with it the loss of 22 counties of Hungary to the 
Eoumanians and of several counties in the north 
and several counties in the south to the hated Slavs ; 
and with these went about two-thirds of the Hun- 
garian population. 

All these sad events reacted promptly on the feel- 
ings of Magyars in America. Their sensitiveness 
to them was intensified when we entered the war, 
by the consciousness that they were alien enemies 
and were under suspicion, — and there was suspi- 
cion. There had been so much propaganda by the 
nationals of Germany that naturally the Magyars 
were also suspected. The result was an extensive 
propaganda on their part to disprove any disloyalty 
to the United States. 

The Magyar leaders both in civil and in church 
relations sent representatives to our government 
for this purpose and on one occasion at least, they 
gathered about 2,000 of their people from all parts 
of the country to hold a conference in Washington 
and to demonstrate with a great parade their loy- 
alty. The addresses at the conference by men of 
their own nationality and by American friends who 
had known them long and well, no doubt served a 
good purpose, but there had been so many parades 
in Washington during the preceding months that 
2,000 men made a slight impression, if any, on the 
general population of the city. 

Another disturbing experience by the Magyars 
in America during this time was the knowledge that 
all their public assemblies were attended by repre- 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 99 

sentatives of our national Secret Service. One of 
these men, in answer to the question, ' ' Do the Mag- 
yar leaders and ministers still compare Magyar 
religion and Magyar life and customs with Ameri- 
can religion, life and customs ?" said, "No, not in 
these times." "Did you find the leaders and min- 
isters loyal to the country of their residence!" 
"Oh, yes, all except one or two, whom I did feel 
like reporting, but simply admonished them." 

Not only were the Magyars distressed by condi- 
tions in the homeland and by suspicions here, but 
they were much annoyed by seeing and coming in 
contact with the nationals of other countries fight- 
ing against their friends at home. Some illustra- 
tions may be interesting: 

The writer was standing one evening in the Penn- 
sylvania station, Pittsburgh, when 500 Czecho- 
slovak soldiers in their neat uniforms were tearing 
away from friends to enter service for their coun- 
try on the other side. The scene was most impres- 
sive. It, however, made little impression on a 
group of Magyars present, one of whom commented : 
"They make too much noise. They don't own this 
station." On another occasion a Magyar objected 
to his Magyar church paper because it was being 
printed and issued from a Czecho-Slovak publish- 
ing house. Again, a Magyar minister who was re- 
quested to preach to a group of his own countrymen 
who came from a Slovak community and therefore 
were more familiar with the Slovak than the Mag- 
yar language, refused, saying, "they are Magyars 
and should be satisfied with the preaching of their 
ancestors." 

Then came the news that many of their friends and 
relatives had been slain or were taken prisoner in 
the war, and they were asked to bring relief to sur- 
viving, mourning, poor relatives. We may well 
imagine what a heart-searching time this was. Dis- 



100 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

appointed, distressed and saddened by news from 
home; suspected by people about them here; and 
everywhere men of other and to them enemy nation- 
alities crossing their path; longing in many in- 
stances to go home and yet they could not; willing 
in other instances to become American citizens and 
they could not. This was not only a time of dis- 
tress but also a time for decision. 

When the United States entered the war and 
mobilized our young men for army service and all 
our workers for our industries, there was another 
test of loyalty applied to the Magyars in America. 
They stood it well. Very few of them lost their 
jobs and many of them decided for American citi- 
zenship because of the experience. Quite a number 
of Magyar young men entered the army and saw 
service in Europe. 

Said a young mechanic in Detroit, pointing to a 
Liberty Motor on which he had worked: "When it 
comes to Liberty Motors, they are the best turned 
out. They will work for liberty. I came to Amer- 
ica as a boy; learned my trade here; married a 
Hungarian girl and have two children. I am Amer- 
ican and love America and will work for her." 

Another illustration of loyalty comes from the 
home of a Magyar minister in Connecticut. Father 
and mother came to America with two sons 25 years 
ago. Two more sons and two daughters were born 
in America. When the war came the oldest son 
was a minister in Ohio; the second son was city 
clerk in the city of his residence; another son was 
in a commercial office ; the fourth was a student for 
the ministry. The city clerk went to Plattsburg 
for training and entered the army and served in 
France as a volunteer; the third son went with the 
first draft and served in France ; the two other sons 
were exempted. 

Helping the unfortunate. — This time of testing 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 101 

was not without its blessings. It developed the 
benevolent spirit and resulted in liberal offerings 
for the suffering and sorrowing in the home land. 
Times here were good. The men worked full time 
at high wages. In their prosperity they did not 
forget the necessities of their suffering relatives. 
The calls for such help came soon and continued 
throughout the war and are coming still. They did 
not fall on deaf ears. Liberal gifts were sent home 
by individuals, but it was soon found that they did 
not always reach their destination. The remedy 
seemed to be united effort and the transmission of 
funds in larger sums and by more responsible 
agencies. So the Magyar churches, — Roman Cath- 
olic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant, held united 
meetings to secure funds and then sent them home 
through the Swedish consulate or the Red Cross. 
The sums secured in this way were astonishingly 
large. The sum total for the country cannot be 
given, but the Magyar churches of Toledo held meet- 
ings and together secured $10,000 in equal parts 
from the three churches represented. This was 
done on two successive occasions. No doubt other 
churches in other places did equally as well. 

To that time the beneficiaries of this benevolence 
were the people in Hungary bereft of their natural 
supporters by the hazards of the war. After the 
Versailles Treaty, however, appeals came from the 
Reformed and Lutheran churches in the dissevered 
provinces in Transylvania and in Czecho-Slovakia. 
Those from Transylvania, now a part of Roumania, 
were especially distressing. Churches had been 
confiscated, schools and universities had been taken 
from the Magyar church authorities, and ministers 
and professors had been deposed or banished and 
in many instances left to wander about as mendi- 
cants. The climax of sympathy and benevolence 
was reached when representatives from the suffer- 



102 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

ing provinces and members of commissions from 
other lands who had gone to investigate and con- 
firm reports, came to this country and appealed to 
the Protestant churches. This appeal not only 
brought relief offerings from the Magyars but sev- 
eral of the large Protestant churches sent special 
gifts for relief and the Federal Council of Churches 
sent a commission to investigate and to help and 
has since then appealed to the liberality of Ameri- 
can Christians in behalf of their suffering co-relig- 
ionists. 

Return to the homeland. — The irresistible pres- 
sure of longing became so great that as soon as 
possible the stream of emigration began. Husbands 
with families, sons with parents, or brothers and 
sisters in the homeland were the first to go, — and 
go they did, notwithstanding the warnings of 
friends and the hardships and dangers awaiting 
them. Most of those in the first contingent ex- 
pected to return to America with their relatives. 

A second contingent went when they learned that 
the large estates were being divided and sold in 
small portions and on easy terms, so they took their 
hard-earned savings and invested them in the land 
of their birth. The dull times here added largely 
to this stream ; rather than eat up their savings they 
would share them with their poor and needy rela- 
tives at home. 

Their experiences have not justified their expec- 
tations. If they had come to America without 
having served their time in the army they were at 
once pressed into service; even their American cit- 
izenship did not release them from their earlier ob- 
ligation. Those who purchased land found that 
though the land was cheap the taxes were outra- 
geously high. Those who expected to return to 
America found that they could not get passports 
and even if they arrived at the port of entrance 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 103 

they often found the quota permitted to enter, ac- 
cording to our present law, had been filled, so that 
their relatives, even if they themselves were eligible 
for admission, were held up for weeks and some- 
times for months before being permitted to leave 
Ellis Island. 

Effect of emigration on Magyar organizations in 
America. — This great exodus and the very small 
stream of those returning or bringing others very 
seriously affected all organizations of Magyars in 
America, but the churches suffered most. The 
lodges lost members and the dues which they paid. 
But the dues were comparatively small sums. Then, 
too, the reduced membership also reduced the liabil- 
ities of the lodges proportionately. With the 
churches it was worse. They lost largely in mem- 
bers ; some of them more than a majority. An ex- 
treme example is shown by the churches in the coke 
region of Pennsylvania. A Eeformed congregation 
in Uniontown, Pa., reported in 1920 a membership 
of 261. It had dwindled to 87 in the next annual 
report. The members had been liberal contributors 
both to current expenses and to the buying of a fine 
church. Some of them had loaned to the congre- 
gation their savings without interest for a period 
of Gve years. When work in the region ceased the 
exodus began. The few members who remained 
had little or no work and could not pay their church 
dues. Those who had loaned money to the 
church and then emigrated called their loans and 
left the fewer and poorer members to bear the heavy 
burdens. Only the liberal help of the various 
Boards of Home Missions made it possible for these 
congregations to survive. 

But not all the Magyar churches in America could 
expect such help. A few of them under the care of 
American Protestant Boards had become self-sup- 
porting and only dire necessity drove them to ac- 



104 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

cept help. More distressing still was the lot of 
about 29 congregations which had been for about 
15 years under the care and support of the Ke- 
formed Church of Hungary. When the war came 
their financial support was withheld and for more 
than two years no help came from the home church. 
They suffered the same or larger loss of members 
than the congregations connected with the Ameri- 
can churches. The members remaining were sub- 
ject to the same adverse circumstances. They 
could endure no longer, so in the spring of 1919 they 
sought refuge in some American Protestant church. 
The time of decision had come. 

Growing democracy. — The Magyars like all other 
immigrants felt their old nationalistic and ecclesi- 
astical foundations yielding under their feet. A 
new spirit manifested itself. The conservatives and 
reactionaries had gone home; the progressives saw 
democracy in the ascendant. Monarchies in Eu- 
rope were toppling; democracies succeeded them. 
Everybody in America spoke or wrote about free- 
dom, liberty, self-determination, self-government 
and Americanization. Great Magyar papers like 
the Szabadsag {Liberty) joined in the common cry. 
The homeland itself had become a republic. Many 
young men had been in training camps or had served 
in the army in Europe "to make the world safe for 
democracy. ' ' 

The result was a desire to become Americanized 
and secure citizenship. Everywhere young men 
and even men of middle age joined Americanization 
classes. The best illustration of this process was 
probably the Americanization work carried on in 
Akron, Ohio. The great rubber factories had spe- 
cial classes. Magyar teachers and one Magyar 
Protestant minister were employed and rendered 
excellent service. A Commencement was held at 
the close of the term in the auditorium of one of 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 105 

the High Schools, where the students came and sat 
in groups representing different nationalities. 
Each group carried an American flag and their own 
nationalistic banner. Each nationality took part in 
the program, which consisted of recitations by the 
several nationalities. The Magyar class was one of 
the largest. All the classes acquitted themselves 
very well. No doubt equally good work was done 
by similar classes elsewhere. 

The second generation. — Growing democracy was 
not only manifest in civil relations but also in the 
churches. Magyar congregations, Eoman Catholic, 
Eastern Orthodox and Protestant alike felt its in- 
fluence. These churches had existed in America for 
a generation. For about two decades they were 
served acceptably by priests and pastors from Hun- 
gary. The relation of these men to their flocks 
was the same as that in the homeland. As the peo- 
ple knew only the Magyar language, they never 
went to American churches and seldom associated 
with Americans. During the war, either by com- 
pulsion or by choice they came in touch with re- 
ligious workers of other churches and of all 
denominations. For a decade before that their 
children had been in the American schools and some 
of them went to American Sunday schools and were 
attracted by the people they met and the services 
they attended. They were especially pleased with 
the singing of our Gospel Hymns. Thus they were 
more and more attracted to the American churches 
and to the same degree became dissatisfied with the 
churches of their parents. Their growing Ameri- 
can ideas, their association with the American Sun- 
day school work are now increasingly a disturbing 
factor in Magyar church life. 

Wise pastors see this and judiciously adapt their 
work to the situation. All the Protestant Magyar 
congregations now have Sunday schools; most of 



106 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

them have Young People's Societies; many of them 
have introduced in the Sunday services some 
Gospel songs or some standard hymns. These are 
translated into Magyar but are sung to the original 
music. The parents enjoy them as much as the 
children. 

Unfortunately not all ministers and priests see 
the coming storm and persist in working as they 
ever have done, even though the children are lost 
to their churches. Sadder still is the fact that an 
unusually large number of these discontented young 
people do not enter the English churches and are 
lost to the Kingdom of Christ. 

When, however, the war came, the congregations 
of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America 
were shut off from their source of support and were 
at the same time under suspicion of being anti- 
American. As all of the congregations had stoutly 
insisted on being Reformed in the homeland, and as 
a number of them had been organized by the Re- 
formed and Presbyterian churches, it was but nat- 
ural that they should apply to these two churches 
for admission when the time of separation from 
home had come. Requests to that effect were made 
by their representatives here of both the Presby- 
terian and Reformed churches in the spring of 
1919, which, however, did not reach them. 

During this long interval of negotiation with the 
Reformed Church of Hungary, to which they be- 
longed, and with the congregations here, several 
divisive influences in the congregations arose and 
several divisive movements were started. 

First there was a movement of the larger and self- 
supporting congregations to establish an indepen- 
dent denomination. This failed because only a 
minority of the congregations were strong enough 
to support themselves; much less could they give 
the necessary financial help to the smaller congre- 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 107 

gations who constituted the majority. The project 
was abandoned. 

A movement then started to affiliate with the 
Protestant Episcopal Church. The result of this 
movement so far is that of the congregations who 
did not enter the Eeformed or the Presbyterian 
Church, 6 declared themselves independent and 6 
have entered the Protestant Episcopal Church. 

The result of the transfer of the Hungarian Ee- 
formed Church in America is therefore that in the 
Western Classis, 14 congregations have with two 
exceptions united as a body with the Eeformed 
Church in the United States. The two exceptions 
being now independent congregations. Seven con- 
gregations of the Eastern Classis have united with 
the same church. The remaining congregations 
have either become Episcopalian or are still inde- 
pendent. The total membership of the congrega- 
tions going into the several churches are: to the 
Eeformed Church in the United States, 19 congre- 
gations, 6,500 communicants, and 25,600 adherents, 
and to the Episcopal Church, 6 congregations and 
1,141 communicants. 

One cannot but regret the long drawn-out nego- 
tiations and the various movements which promise 
only long-continued contentions in the congregations 
and between the ministers and people of one congre- 
gation with those of another. 

(d) forms of religious approach 

In considering the forms of religious approach to 
the Magyars in America it must be recognized that 
they all belonged to some church at home, and that 
in the homeland there was little or no transition 
from one form of Christian religion to the other. 

Furthermore, it must be borne in mind that here 
in America the Magyars who were Eoman Catholic 



108 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

or Eastern Orthodox (Greek) soon sought and in 
many instances secured the organization of congre- 
gations, and that those belonging to Protestant 
Christianity also soon sought help and secured it 
from several Home Mission Boards and so from the 
beginning were able to organize congregations. 

The method of approach must be modified accord- 
ingly. It must aim at acquaintance with the group, 
the congregation. It must recognize the excel- 
lencies in the congregation before it can correct 
whatever failings there may be found in the work 
of the Magyar churches. It must give due credit 
to the organic character and strength of these con- 
gregations and then gradually introduce the 
changes needed to adapt their work to American 
social and religious conditions. The process may 
be slow, but its success is assured. 

Another method of approach is what may be called 
the individual method, that is, an approach to indi- 
viduals and families irrespective of their former 
or present professed church affiliations. This has 
not been found very successful among Magyars in 
America for the one reason above intimated, aver- 
sion against proselyting, and the other because it 
arouses the opposition of the Magyar community 
and especially of the Magyar congregations of any 
religion recognized in the homeland, most especially 
of the ministers who may fear the disintegration of 
their congregations. 

Social settlement. — This form of approach to the 
Magyar people is usually welcomed as a means of 
community betterment and especially as a means of 
protection to the morals of childhood. Magyar 
parents as a rule will send their children to the set- 
tlement to learn English; to receive moral instruc- 
tion; or to become familiar with American customs. 
They are not, however, satisfied with social settle- 
ment work as a means of religious approach either 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 109 

to children or adults. They say, "It is good, but 
why is it named after this or that church. If these 
American churches have these settlement houses 
under their own name and by the support of their 
denomination, why should not we have such settle- 
ment houses of our own!" 

There are several places where they have actually 
undertaken such work. The Presbyterian Magyar 
Mission in New York has such a settlement house 
of its own on East 116th St. It is supported by 
the New York Presbytery, but to all intents and pur- 
poses it is a Magyar settlement house run under the 
direction of the Magyar minister. 

The Magyar Reformed Church in Bridgeport has 
several times undertaken such work but thus far 
could not carry it forward to their satisfaction for 
lack of a building. They are now planning to pur- 
chase a building for the purpose. 

The Magyar Reformed Church in Toledo has had 
a congregational house in which they have been do- 
ing such work for a number of years, and they were 
probably the first to do Social Settlement work in 
the foreign community in that city. They have 
done reasonably well, too, but have failed to do what 
they desire, for lack of trained workers, and pos- 
sibly, too, because inter-racial and inter-denomina- 
tional prejudices have hindered the work. 

As a means of showing and exercising the spirit 
of American Christianity for the good of alien peo- 
ple and their community the social settlement is 
most commendable. We cannot, however, but re- 
gret that it is sometimes done under denominational 
banners when it would be much more acceptable to 
the people and more effective for their good if this 
tag were not attached. We fully appreciate what 
Peter Roberts says in "The New Immigration, ' ' 
speaking of the work of the churches, pp. 318-319: 

"If only it could divest itself of the trammels of 



110 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

ecclesiastical bigotry and denominational exclusive- 
ness. . . . Every man who believes in the eternal 
verities, mourns the loss of faith in spiritual reali- 
ties incident to the coming of the immigrant to 
America, but is it not largely due to the divisions 
among men who profess in this enlightened country 
to follow the same Lord?" 

In a small town in western Pennsylvania with a 
population of about 8,000 including the vicinity 
where many foreign-born people live, one of the 
denominations was so successful that they have 
$12,000 or $15,000 left for use in the community. 
First impulse dictated the erection of a community 
house for social settlement work. More recent 
sentiment has caused a pause with the probable re- 
sult that other denominations will be challenged to 
join in the erection of a building more adequate for 
the requirements and not limited by any denomina- 
tional designation. May the project be realized! 

Street evangelism. — Evangelism of any sort awak- 
ens the suspicion and sometimes the reproof or even 
the ridicule of Magyars in general. At home it 
meant antagonism to the established church, an ef- 
fort either to discount the sincerity and efficiency of 
the minister and church dignitaries or an attempt 
to live a life presumably superior without the help 
of the church. 

The fact as told by the Magyar ministers in 
America is that the Eef ormed Church of Hungary, 
while it is evangelical, is not evangelistic, and op- 
poses any evangelistic effort. The chief and only 
aim of the church, they seem to think, is to see to it 
that all the children born into Protestant homes shall 
be brought up "in the nurture and admonition of 
the Lord" according to the promises given by the 
parents or sponsors at the time of baptism. Of 
course, in a state where every one is required to 
register in some church, this attitude is very nat- 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN AMERICA 111 

ural. Unfortunately, when these people come to 
America, where people can do as they please con- 
cerning church affiliation, this is not enough, for 
many wander away from the church or become 
coldly indifferent. Magyar missionaries therefore 
speak more favorably of church evangelism. 

Church evangelism. — These missionaries welcome 
such evangelists, but say it largely devolves on the 
pastor to carry it forward. They hope to have it 
as soon as efficient leaders can be trained. There 
are, however, at present a number of hindrances. 
Members of the churches say there is no need for it 
because all the Magyars in America do belong to 
the church. Other ministers themselves say there 
is no need for it because they conduct each year a 
series of special penitential services during the sea- 
son of Lent and preach special sermons to win back 
the indifferent. Another question is, ' ' Who shall be 
the evangelist V 9 He must be an ordained minister 
and he must be able to speak the Magyar language. 

Institutional church. — What was said about street 
evangelism among the Magyars applies also to the 
institutional church. It is to them not only a new 
method of approach but an unsatisfactory com- 
mingling of religion and play ; of the sacred and the 
secular. They welcome the efforts of the institu- 
tional church to teach all forms of family, commu- 
nity and civic betterment; are pleased to have their 
boys taught manual training and their girls needle- 
work, but these things to them are not relisrion. 
They should not be taught in church but in school. 

Having reminded a Magyar minister of the suc- 
cess of the Labor Temple in New York, he remarked 
that while it was acceptable to many foreign-born 
people, it does not appeal to the Magyars and does 
not reach them effectively. 



Chapter VI 
SPECIAL PROBLEMS 

(a) leadership of foreign language churches 

The first Protestant missionaries to work among 
the Magyars in America were young men from the 
Theological Seminary at Debreczin. They were 
called by the Home Mission Boards of the Reformed 
and Presbyterian Churches upon the recommenda- 
tion of Rev. Dr. Balogh, Professor of Church His- 
tory. His recommendations were very reliable. 
The young men came with excellent training, fine 
culture and the fervor and enthusiasm of youth. 
When, however, they were thrust into the new con- 
ditions, into the congested industrial centers where 
the people lived, they were for some time hardly 
equal to the task. Their work was largely an effort 
to conduct church work after the plans prevailing 
in Hungary. The result was that the people suf- 
fered for lack of pastoral attention and in many 
instances lost their interest in religion. It was, 
however, remarkable how soon most of these trained 
men adapted themselves to conditions in which they 
found themselves. They became the advisers of 
their people in all sorts of needs. Did a newcomer 
want a job? He went to the minister and received 
help in getting it. Did he get into any sort of 
trouble with the civil authorities? The pastor 
helped him out. Was he about to buy a property? 
The pastor saw to it that he was not cheated. Was 
he hurt in the mill or the mine? The pastor at once 
went to the hospital to protect him from the wiles 

of the claim agent or the representative of the cor- 

112 



SPECIAL PROBLEMS 113 

poration, who might wish him to sign a release. In 
addition to all this the pastor assumed the duty of 
teaching the Vacation Bible School for the children 
of the Magyar community irrespective of religious 
affiliation. Unfortunately there was not enough 
time, and possibly not enough knowledge of social 
and industrial conditions among his people, to se- 
cure for them conditions of recreation and social 
betterment so much needed in every foreign-born 
community. 

Ministers of kin: trained abroad. — The unanimous 
opinion of Magyar ministers and Magyar people 
alike is that the minister of their own kin is best 
qualified for the work. They give a number of rea- 
sons for this opinion. First, only a minister of kin 
has the educational qualifications. He knows not 
only the language but also the peculiarities of the 
people. He has been trained for this as a life work 
and therefore uses good literary style and accept- 
able Magyar delivery of the sermon. He knows the 
doctrines and customs of the church. He is there- 
fore recognized as worthy to lead the people. Again 
the minister is not only their spiritual guide but also 
their adviser in business affairs. They can confer 
with a man of their own kin much more satisfac- 
torily than with a man of American birth and train- 
ing. He will enjoy their confidence to a much larger 
degree than an American-born man. 

Ministers of kin: trained in America. — There are 
now a number of trained men of kin in America 
who have entered the ministry among the Magyar 
people. Are not these better fitted for the above- 
mentioned services than the foreign-trained min- 
ister! The opinions of the Magyar people differ 
on the question. It depends largely upon the man 
himself. Can he use the Magyar language to the 
satisfaction of the people or is he perhaps able to 
use only the colloquial which he learned on the farm 



114 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

or in the shop? Possibly even this common lan- 
guage has been forgotten or corrupted since coming 
to America. Besides this he is known by the people 
as a peasant or a shop man even after he has be- 
come educated for the ministry. The prejudice is 
unjust but it is very real. 

Ministers of kin: trained both here and abroad. — 
Again there are ministers in the Magyar work who 
got their literary training in the home land and their 
theological training in America. These are, all 
things considered, the best qualified men. They 
know the European backgrounds well; they know 
the peculiar temperament of their parishioners; 
they are familiar with church customs and cere- 
monies ; they enter into the social life of the congre- 
gation and yet live above the average of their people 
and so secure the respect a minister needs. 

Their American theological training enables them 
to adapt their teaching and work to the new 
surroundings ; it gives them a new idea of pastoral 
relation to the people; it encourages more friendly 
relations between the Magyar and the American 
community; and it encourages them to adapt their 
church life and work more harmoniously with that 
of the nearby American congregations and so has 
a tendency to keep the young people in the same 
congregation with their parents, for the benefit of 
both. Wherever such men of kin have been working 
there is found the adoption of the excellencies of 
American church life without the loss of the excel- 
lencies brought from the home land. There will be 
Sunday school work; Y.P.S.C.E.; Mission Societies; 
vacation Bible school work after the American plan, 
without the loss of earnest work on the part of par- 
ents and children in its behalf; and even in the mat- 
ter of church music there will be the use pf some of 
our American Gospel Hymns in addition to the 



SPECIAL PROBLEMS 115 

stately choral music so much loved by the adults. 
The result is acceptable to both youth and adult. 

The supply of ministers in any church or any 
language is limited, and is very much so as concerns 
Magyar ministers. There was a time when well- 
trained ministers could be secured from Europe. 
So, too, in the earlier history of Magyar mission 
work there were more young Magyar men entering 
our seminaries. But the same tendency which keeps 
young men of American birth from studying for the 
ministry affects the Magyar young men. The result 
is that of late years it has been necessary to train 
and ordain young men without having had full lit- 
erary training. Some of these have become excel- 
lent workers because of their earnestness and devo- 
tion. Their work has been made doubly difficult 
because of the prejudices of the people above re- 
ferred to. In addition to the attitude of the people 
is the prejudice of the European-trained ministers, 
who quote their long years of preparation in com- 
parison to the short time given to preparation in 
America. As one of them said to the writer, con- 
cerning a young man who was thus preparing and 
who was at the time teaching in the vacation Bible 
school, ' ' He will never make a minister. He is only 
a peasant, and what can you make of a peasant ?" 
The answer for which the speaker evidently waited 
was : "I don't know what you can make of a peas- 
ant in Hungary, but in America we have made sen- 
ators, presidents, judges, and prominent ministers 
out of many of them. This young man is in Amer- 
ica, and if he will do his part we will make an ef- 
fective minister for the Magyar people out of him. ,, 

American men trained abroad. — One more method 
of securing qualified ministers for Magyar work 
needs to be considered: that of American men 
trained in foreign lands. This has been done in a 



116 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

few instances with good results, and yet it is noc 
satisfactory to the Magyar people. They speak 
highly of the fine spirit and warm hearts of these 
young men, but still think they cannot make them- 
selves understood like a man of their own national- 
ity. The Magyar language, they say, is so difficult 
that the young men do not remain in Hungary long 
enough to learn it. The talents of such young men 
can, however, find a field for good service in their 
association with Magyar ministers whom they can 
influence to modify their work according to the 
American requirements. Would not such young 
men make excellent teachers in our seminaries, ex- 
cellent teachers and organizers for American Sun- 
day School work and for Y.P.S.C.E. work? 

An American minister whom we have known for 
a number of years and who was located in a town 
in western Pennsylvania, where there were many 
Magyars, had committed to memory the marriage, 
the baptism, and the funeral services of the Magyar 
Reformed Church. He rehearsed them to an intel- 
ligent Magyar till he had ability to use them accept- 
ably, and then officiated whenever asked by Magyar 
people, but he never ventured to preach in Magyar. 
Another American minister went a step farther, and 
undertook to preach in Magyar, but discontinued 
when he was told of a ludicrous mistake he had 
made. He was speaking about angels, and thought 
he had said, "All the angels are in heaven,' ' when 
he really had said, "All the Englishmen are in 
heaven.' ' 

There is another American minister who has, 
however, preached for some years to Magyar con- 
gregations. He gives this as his method of prepar- 
ing the sermon: After preparing it in English he 
takes the concordance and finds a scripture passage 
for each thought of the sermon. He then looks up 
the passage in the Magyar Bible and transcribes it 



SPECIAL PROBLEMS 117 

for the Magyar sermon. The method commends 
itself for the faithful efforts of the preacher and no 
doubt impressed the people with its scriptural form. 
These considerations raise the question as to 
whether it were not better to expect the Magyar 
people to affiliate themselves at once with the Eng- 
lish congregation in the community whose services 
are nearest to those in the homeland in devotional 
character; where they might find the order of the 
church year and might come prepared by having 
read the scripture lessons designated for the day; 
where they might hear the choral music to which 
they are accustomed in their own churches and 
where the people assume a devotional attitude in 
prayer with which they are familiar. They would 
for a time miss the effect of the sermon but their 
very thirst for it might be an incentive for the 
learning of English. Besides this, their children 
would more promptly come into fellowship with 
American church life and would not have the ten- 
dency to wander away from the church of the 
parents because they, — the children, — did not appre- 
ciate the more solemn character of the service. 

(b) forms of religious break-up 

There is in fact very little formal religious break- 
up among the Magyar people. It is rare to find a 
man or woman among them who declares himself a 
freethinker' or atheist. There are, however, two 
pronounced tendencies almost as bad as these. The 
first is a formal religion in connection with the 
Church. Many Magyar men think and speak of 
themselves as "good churchmen" when they go to 
church occasionally, contribute for the support of 
the church and take the Lord's supper once or twice 
a year. Too many of them think of the Church 
rather as a national institution whereby Magyarism 



118 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

may be perpetuated even in America. They even 
speak at times of Magyar Protestant religion as if 
it were a distinct form of religion with a peculiarly 
strong Magyar flavor. 

The other tendency is that of indifference to the 
claims of the Church and of the formalities of re- 
ligion entirely. They have been away from the in- 
fluence of the Church as it was in Hungary for a 
long time. They live now in some small out-of-the- 
way mining town where there may be no church 
buildings of any kind; where the familiar sound of 
the church bell is never heard ; or if this is not liter- 
ally the situation, the churches in the community are 
small buildings, often in bad repair, and the Ameri- 
can pastors come only occasionally, preach a sermon, 
and are not seen again during the week. Most 
serious of all, the church of their own choice, and 
preaching in a language which they can understand, 
is not within ten or twenty miles of the place. 

Sunday is therefore spent in a social gathering 
with their fellow-countrymen, in games and sport 
and drinking and, too often, fighting. Eeligion is 
the last thing to claim attention, and before long it 
has died out of remembrance and practice. 
Churches wishing to help these people should em- 
ploy a sufficient number of traveling missionaries to 
visit the community twice a month at least. He 
should remain with the people for several days at a 
time so as to come into close touch with them socially 
as well as religiously. 

Here, too, is an open and important field for the 
work of the deaconess. She can help keep the home 
clean, moral and religious. She will have freer and 
fuller contact with the home life than is possible to 
the minister himself. 

Religious realignment. — As a matter of fact there 
is very little realignment either in Europe or Amer- 
ica, It is not thought right in Europe to change 



SPECIAL PROBLEMS 119 

from one religion to another. Jew remains Jew, 
and is respected for his adherence to the faith ; Cath- 
olic remains Catholic, and seldom becomes Protes- 
tant; and Protestant remains loyal to his church 
though he may be greatly displeased with its man- 
agement, its doctrines, or its ministers. People who 
do change are suspected of ulterior motives. 

Much the same feeling exists in America among 
the first generation of Magyars, though there are 
more frequent changes than at home just because 
there is more change among members of the Amer- 
ican churches. Changes from one type of Protes- 
tantism to another are somewhat more frequent but 
are hardly more than the exception to the rule of 
loyalty to the denomination, a change from which 
is sometimes designated as violation of the faith. 

When, however, the Magyar family is too far 
away from a church of its own denomination or 
language they go to an American church for wor- 
ship., even though they may not understand the lan- 
guage in which the services are conducted. Their 
children are then sent to the American Sunday 
School, and parents seem well pleased to have them 
bring home and read the English literature given 
them. 

When the time comes for catechetical instruction 
and confirmation, at about the age of 12, the children 
are sent to relatives or friends living in reach of a 
Magyar church for instruction during a period of 
from six to eight weeks, so that children and parents 
may belong to the same church. 

(c) EXTRA-CHURCH MOVEMENT 

From what has been said on the relation of re- 
ligions and denominations toward each other, we 
may infer that the Magyar is not much impressed 
by the extra-church religious movements. They 



120 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

believe in the benefits of Social Settlement work; 
they appreciate the endeavors of the Y.M.C.A. and 
the Y.W.C.A, bnt they say these are not as distinct- 
ively religious as they should be and cannot take 
the place of the church. 

We hope they will see things in better light, but 
at present the Magyar churches seek to have these 
activities carried on by themselves, though they are 
not at all adequately equipped for the purpose. 
Many of the young men join the Y.M.C.A. for its 
social and educational advantages, but still hold 
their parental notions about its religious efficacy. 

Wherever possible Magyar Protestant congrega- 
tions encourage Y.P.S.C.E. societies in connection 
with the congregation, but these are not affiliated 
with the Y.P.S.C.E. itself. The work done is in 
some respects the same. The devotional meetings 
are led by the young people, though the pastor is 
usually present to direct and encourage them. Sev- 
eral examples will illustrate. 

The Magyar Reformed Church, of Toledo, 0., is 
fortunate in having a well-adapted school building, 
which has a special room for the young people's 
work. An evening spent with these people is not 
only interesting, but edifying, because of its earnest- 
ness and devotion. The pastor is organist and ad- 
dresses the young people only when invited to do so. 
The Sunday evening service consists of singing, 
Bible reading, and prayer, all conducted by the 
young people. After the devotional hour there is 
a period for business, and planning work among 
young people during the week, etc. On the evening 
the writer was present, plans were made for the 
organization of an orchestra. Eight young people 
volunteered and asked the pastor to be the teacher 
and leader. The purpose was to furnish better 
music for the Sunday evening service and also to 
afford weekly evening recreation and pleasure. 



SPECIAL PROBLEMS 121 

A similar society exists in connection with the 
Magyar Eeformed Church in Bridgeport, Conn., 
with this modification : the pastor is not present, 
though he keeps informed about the conduct and 
business of the society. This society has more of 
the entertainment features of the Y.M.C.A. and is 
gathering funds to purchase a building separate 
from the church property for their weekly evening 
work. A Magyar Young People's Society, in con- 
nection with the Magyar congregation in Dayton, 
0., has such a building, but the result is not alto- 
gether desirable, as the management is more diffi- 
cult. The entertainment idea threatens to assume 
undue proportions. An effort is being made to se- 
cure the aid of the Y.M.C.A. secretary of the city 
to instruct and guide these young people. Some of 
the Presbyterian Magyar congregations have sim- 
ilar organizations of which the pastors speak very 
well. The great Hungarian Magyar Church of De- 
troit, one of the largest in America, is said to have 
an excellent Young People's Society, in connection 
with the congregation, occupying for its work the 
Congregational House. The entire movement is 
very promising and needs encouragement. This en- 
couragement is not given by the American congre- 
gations as largely as it should be, but in some in- 
stances, as at Homestead, Pa., the Y.P.S. of the 
Magyar congregation frequently secures free of 
charge the use of the Carnegie Library auditorium 
for some public entertainment. The American 
churches can render effective service in this work 
by attending the meetings whenever possible and 
especially by showing appreciation of the entertain- 
ments which these societies occasionally give. At- 
tendance is increasing and it is encouraging to the 
societies. 

Extra-church religious movements. — A glance at 
religious conditions in the homeland during the last 



122 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

thirty years will explain why Magyars in America 
are backward in extra-church organizations. Dur- 
ing the time of the early revival services of Dwight 
L. Moody and men of his type in England and Scot- 
land, there were a number of Magyar students in 
the Protestant seminaries there. They were pious 
young men who were deeply impressed with the de- 
voutness as well as the zeal of these evangelists and 
imbibed their spirit and their methods of work. 
When these young men returned home to the stereo- 
typed forms and activities of the churches, they en- 
deavored to awaken the people to a more effective 
religious life, and by their efforts they came into 
conflict with the authorities of the church, who dis- 
couraged, hindered and in some instances persecuted 
them. The consequence was that they were looked 
upon by the common people as fanatics who wished 
to introduce a new religion. The Church of Hun- 
gary remained practically the same till quite re- 
cently, when these same young men grown older, 
and reenf orced by other men who studied abroad, are 
now looked upon as the leaders of a new era in the 
religious life of Hungary. 

Wide-awake Magyar ministers in America say the 
time has come when the Y.M.C.A. and the Y.W. 
C.A. and the Salvation Army will receive a welcome 
in Hungary. 

Here in America the older members of the 
churches look with disfavor on all such movements 
and look to the churches to hold and guide the young 
people. The young people, however, are taking an 
increasing interest in all the above-named organi- 
zations, but they value them more for their educa- 
tional and recreational features than for their 
religious work. Even the younger people say: 
"The church for religion; these institutions for 
other purposes.' * 



SPECIAL PROBLEMS 123 

(d) PRESSING NEED FOR MAGYAR MISSION LITERATURE 

Literature needed. — A great and pressing need is 
a constructive church literature, both periodical and 
occasional. So far as the writer knows, there is 
only one church paper published in this country 
under the supervision and financial support of any 
church. Other papers publish church news, but 
they are owned and edited by individuals and serve 
without sanction from the churches whose news they 
print. They are sometimes the official organs of 
some Federation of Magyar Benevolent Associa- 
tions but not subject to any suggestions from any 
church authority. They are usually well edited, but 
like all the Hungarian papers in America without 
exception, they are somewhat given to controversies 
not advisable to appear in church papers. The only 
church paper, above referred to, is the Reforma- 
tusoJc Lapja, published jointly by the Presbyterian 
and Eeformed Church Sunday school and Publica- 
tion Boards. Even this has not been free fromS( 
harmful controversies. The ideal Hungarian! 
church paper should be worthy of the patronage and 
support of Protestant Magyars of any American 
Protestant denomination. With all churches con- 
tributing to its support, it could be made to serve 
the real religious interests of all the Magyar people. 

There is also a need for Magyar Sunday school 
literature. There should be prepared lesson stories 
for the little folks who cannot speak English nor 
yet read Magyar, but who are dependent on their 
mothers and Sunday school teachers for their in- 
struction. The parent also needs helps and com- 
ments on the Sunday school lessons in their mother 
tongue to encourage them to come to Sunday school 
and profit by its instruction. 

There have been published in English within re- 



124 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

cent years so many good books for devotional and 
inspirational use that some of them should be trans- 
lated into Magyar for the benefit of the older people 
who either cannot or will not learn our language. 

Parochial papers. — Parochial papers are not to be 
encouraged. Not every pastor has the talent of an 
editor; not every pastor can be disinterested and 
fair in the articles he publishes. Too often he pub- 
lishes such news and such opinions as he would not 
treat either in public discourse or in personal con- 
ference. It is sometimes said by complaining par- 
ishioners that the minister "uses his paper as a 
club over them. ,, The club may be necessary, but 
its use in the paper usually works harm to the min- 
ister and his work, as well as wrong to the parish- 
ioners. 

Tracts. — There has been great need for more 
tracts adapted to the Magyar people. The several 
Mission Boards are making commendable progress 
in providing tracts of this kind, but they have some- 
times acted without conference with the Magyar 
ministers who know best what is needed. These 
ministers say that emotional appeals in tracts are 
not effective; that it were better to make an intel- 
lectual appeal. They urge that the tracts be of a 
more concrete character, e.g., instead of a tract 
warning the reader against some specified sin, let 
the tract set forth the working out of the sin in the 
life of some person. Let the Christian virtues also 
be taught by tracts setting forth the fruits of their 
adoption and nurture in life. 

The ministers who are familiar with our newer 
religious literature, enjoy it very much and wish 
that much of it might be translated into Magyar 
for the use of their people either in whole or in part. 
They have mentioned some of Henry Drummond's 
addresses; Dr. Fosdick's books on Faith and 
Prayer, etc., etc. 



SPECIAL PROBLEMS ut 

(e) pakish evangelism 

Turning now to the brighter side of our subject, 
we see many signs of progress and of hope for the 
work of the Lord among the Magyar people in 
America. We mention first parish evangelism. 
We use the adjective advisedly, because for a long 
time the ministers and people, too, looked askance 
upon the great evangelistic campaigns that have for 
years swept our country. In the homeland all chil- 
dren were baptized in infancy and the parents were 
instructed and expected to bring up their children 
"in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."^ To 
their credit, they did it, and have been doing it as 
circumstances permitted in this country. At home 
all persons were by the law of the land required to 
be members of some church, and so there were sup- 
posed to be no unevangelized people. Now, what- 
ever may be said of the homeland, conditions here 
were sadly unsatisfactory. Something must be 
done to bring up children which was not being done 
and to keep alive the spirit of the Lord in the mem- 
bers of the church as well as to bring back from the 
world those who had lapsed from the faith. The 
questions were what is to be done after Confirma- 
tion? What of the conditions which draw young 
men and women away from the church and from the 
Lord! If the lapses and losses of our American 
churches are large and distressing, the losses in 
Magyar churches are alarming. This is quite ap- 
parent to the Magyar ministers. The people must 
be awakened, the young must be made to work for 
the Lord, the lapsed must be won back. How can it 
be done? 

The plan adopted by the Protestant ministers, ir- 
respective of denominational affiliation, is as fol- 
lows: The entire country has been districted and 
formed into groups of congregations in which the 



126 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

pastors will join in holding evangelistic campaigns. 
The season selected is from New Year to Easter. 
The ministers meet in conference to arrange the 
program. 

The pastor describes conditions in his parish re- 
quiring evangelistic endeavor. He designates spe- 
cial needs in his own congregation. The brethren 
together map out a series of subjects to be treated 
and designate the speakers best suited to the sub- 
jects. The time of the campaign is arranged at the 
suggestion of the pastor and the meetings will con- 
tinue for several days. They begin with an evening 
service with two short sermons or addresses, and 
an explanation of the purpose. The next morning 
will be spent by the ministers in conference with 
each other and possibly in getting from the pastor 
a list of names of persons who should be visited. 
The afternoon will be given to two more addresses 
and the privilege of persons present to ask questions 
or make profession of faith or of repentance. The 
ministers who are not needed for the afternoon 
meeting will go two and two to visit persons need- 
ing personal appeal. The evening again will in- 
clude two sermons and the answering of questions. 
Such meetings proved very effective and helpful 
during 1921, and indications are for more effective 
work this year. 

A promising indirect result has been the effect 
on the ministers themselves. The brother who was 
weak in any part of his work is strengthened. The 
minister who did not reach his people with his ser- 
mons follows the example of his more successful 
brother. The sermons of all of them are having a 
more distinctly evangelistic note since the meetings, 
and every man feels that he does not stand alone 
but has the backing of brethren of like talents and 
confronting the same problems. 

Wherever such meetings have been held the peo- 



SPECIAL PROBLEMS 127 

pie have been awakened and attend more faithfully 
to their religious duties. As a plain workman said: 
"I have learned to speak for the Lord to the man 
who works next to me." 

(f) religious education 

Magyar ministers and people alike have always 
emphasized religious education. Pastors always 
give thorough and faithful instruction in the doc- 
trines and duties of their religion to the children 
being prepared for profession of faith and confirm- 
ation. In this the parents have cooperated with 
heart and soul. It is not uncommon for parents 
living at a distance from the church to send their 
children to board with relatives or friends for a 
period of from six to eight weeks while under the 
minister's instruction. On confirmation day the 
children are examined before the assembled congre- 
gation. By the way, it happens in recent years that 
some of them must be examined in English because 
they no longer know the Magyar language. 

Good and necessary as this is, it has been found 
that it is not enough. It was disproportionately in- 
tellectual and formal. Since the evangelistic note is 
being sounded, the educational work, too, is widen- 
ing out. More emphasis is being placed on per- 
sonal consecration and on life service for the Mas- 
ter. Sunday schools feel the impulse. The subject- 
matter of instruction is enlarged and the young are 
encouraged to take part in the activities of the 
church. 

Young People's Societies are now organized in 
most of the Magyar churches in America, and in 
some instances they are given either a room in the 
church as their own or they are provided with a 
building of their own and are encouraged to hold 
there not only their Sunday devotional meetings 



128 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

but to meet there during the week for social and 
educational purposes. 

Young Magyars have more than the average love 
for music and theatricals. They will have them 
either in the club or theater or in their own rooms 
or buildings. The pastors who are awake to their 
opportunity select the plays and help make the pro- 
grams, and encourage the giving of their "plays" 
in the school-room of the church. 

Daily Vacation Bible Schools. — Such schools are 
not an innovation among the Magyar churches. All 
the congregations in America have had them for 
years. When the representatives of the Church of 
Hungary entered into negotiations for the transfer 
of their congregations to American churches, an in- 
sistent condition was that they might be continued. 
Now whilst the primary motive may have been the 
perpetuation of the Hungarian language, these 
schools afford excellent opportunity for religious in- 
struction and are so much appreciated by the par- 
ents that they willingly help to support them finan- 
cially. One^ of these schools in Toledo, Ohio, is 
federated with twelve or more such schools in the 
city. It is the testimony of the superintendent of 
the Federation that a year ago it was not only the 
largest in the city but also the best. It is only an 
example of others that are or can be made as good. 

Training workers. — Magyar ministers and people 
alike have always insisted that preachers and teach- 
ers^ and religious workers must be thoroughly 
trained. They have now found that the best work- 
ers are those who got their general literary training 
in the homeland but who got their special training 
for their work in America in our American schools. 
There is therefore a growing demand for such 
American-trained ministers and teachers. In an- 
swer to their appeals, the Presbyterian Church has 
placed a Magyar professor in the Seminary in 




CONGREGATION AT SERVICE 

First Magyar Presbyterian Church, llcth St. New York City 




CONFIRMATION CI, ASS, REFORMED CHURCH, WEST SIDE, CLEVELAND 



SPECIAL PROBLEMS 129 

Bloomfield and another in their college in Dubnqne, 
Iowa. The Reformed Church, upon the urgent re- 
quest of both the Church at home and the congrega- 
tions here, will do the same as early as arrange- 
ments to that effect can be made. Quite a number 
of Magyar young men are now in these schools and 
in other institutions of higher education. Quite re- 
cently requests have come to the Eeformed and 
Presbyterian Churches to receive into their Theo- 
logical Seminaries a number of theological students 
from the Seminaries of Hungary to spend the last 
two years of their course in America and then 
return to Hungary for service in the Reformed 
Church there. 

Curriculum for Bible School. — Reference has been 
made to the prominence of the Magyar spirit in 
Vacation Bible school work. This cannot be pre- 
vented, because it is entirely voluntary to parents 
whether they shall send their children or not. What 
is therefore needed is a carefully prepared course 
of study for such schools, so that religious education 
shall be the first and dominant purpose. Consid- 
erable attention is being given to this matter by 
the educational secretaries of our Sunday school 
Boards, but the danger is that the advice and help 
of successful Magyar ministers and teachers has not 
been sought. A suggestion suffices. 

Teacher training classes. — There should be in 
every Magyar church or Sunday school a class in 
teacher training. No special Magyar literature is 
needed for this work, but consecrated and efficient 
young American men and women should be encour- 
aged to do this work voluntarily and without com- 
pensation. This is an entirely new line of work to 
the Magyar people and their pastors have their 
hands too full of other work to do this also. What 
applies to teacher training classes applies equally 
to mission study classes. 



130 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

Y. P. S. C. E. — Young people's societies need the 
sympathy and encouragement of their American 
friends of similar societies. Frequent visits to their 
meetings by individuals or committees of American 
societies would be welcome and appreciated, and 
the visit would not be lacking in interest. 

Closer fellowship. — Another need to mention is of 
a similar character : closer fellowship with the Mag- 
yar people and especially with their churches by the 
people of American churches. A fine beginning of 
this has been made in Lorain, Ohio, and Bridgeport, 
Conn., where there are occasional union services, 
such as anniversaries, national holidays, etc. 

At each of those places successful and mutually 
helpful meetings have been held. At Lorain, on the 
occasion of the tenth anniversary, the Presbyterian 
minister and his people attended the Magyar serv- 
ice in the afternoon, and the Magyar people and a 
minister went to the Presbyterian church in the 
evening and afterward joined in an anniversary 
banquet in the school-room of the Magyar church. 

The occasion at Bridgeport, Conn., was the 
twenty-fifth anniversary, in the services of which 
the Presbyterian minister and the choir of his church 
took part in the afternoon, and the Congregational 
minister and the choir of his church took part in 
the evening. 

Summer mission conferences. — It would not be ad- 
visable nor possible to hold such conferences for the 
Magyar young people. These should, however, be 
urged to attend the conferences being held within 
reach of them. They should be encouraged to do so 
by taking some part on the program. Nothing 
would please them more, little would be so helpful 
to immigrant mission work in America as to have 
them give a pageant of some phase of life in Hun- 
gary. 

The outlook for the future. — Finally, what of the 



SPECIAL PROBLEMS 131 

outlook? It is hopeful and encouraging. We need 
only remember that the Magyars are an intelligent, 
high-strung people and expect to meet us on the 
level and have us meet them in the same way. The 
indications are that from now on the Magyar mis- 
sion work of all churches in America will be more 
effective because we all understand the Magyar peo- 
ple better and they trust us more fully. 



APPENDICES 
AND 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 



Appendix I 

AMERICANIZATION AS THE FOREIGNER 
THINKS OF IT 

(By Rev. Arpad Bakay, Akron, Ohio) 

The average foreigner is struck with alarming 
surprise by the nation-wide Americanization move- 
ment urged upon him. He does not understand its 
intent. He regards with distrust its pressure from 
all quarters hitherto unfelt and unheard of by him. 

In the past very little if anything was said to 
him concerning Americanization or about acquiring 
the language of the nation, or of changing his for- 
eign customs and life ideals. Consequently he has 
been satisfied to work here for wages he could never 
hope to earn in his own country, and has been con- 
tent to continue living in his old European ways. 

Now, that a new interest is brought to bear upon 
him, he is naturally disinclined and indifferent to it. 
In most instances it is only his desire to hold down 
his job and to retain the favor of his employers 
that he is obliged to "take in'' some Americaniza- 
tion. 

While such, in general, is the attitude of the for- 
eigner toward the great Americanization campaign, 
there are wide differences in their feelings and 
opinions. In conversation with many of them you 
will find this expression: "I wish I had had such 
an opportunity to learn the English language eight 
or ten years ago; I would be in better position to- 
day; but now I am too old to learn it." Others will 
say : "It is too late, I am going home. ' ' You will 

135 



136 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

find these the strongest excuses of the objectors for 
their lack of interest. 

Perhaps about 46 per cent of the foreign popula- 
tion are drawn back to Europe by family ties ; they 
have been severed from their loved ones during the 
fearful world war so that not even communication 
could be had with them. These conditions have 
created in them an intense longing to see their loved 
ones again. So deep is their anxiety to know the 
fate of those they left behind that their minds are 
fixed on one thing — to go home and see for them- 
selves. However, as to whether all these will re- 
turn to their country or will try to have their fami- 
lies join them here is yet a question that will be 
determined by the opportunities offered them in 
their own country to make a living and a fortune 
for themselves and their children. Thus the place 
of their settlement is largely influenced by the eco- 
nomic advantages rather than by national feelings. 

With many of them the study required for Amer- 
icanization is a case in which the spirit is willing 
but the flesh is weak. After a day of hard physical 
labor it is indeed an expression of strong effort and 
ambition for a man to devote an hour or two to ac- 
quiring the English language, for when the body is 
worn out and the longing for food and rest is upper- 
most the mind is least receptive. It is one of the 
most impressive scenes to watch a class of men and 
women anywhere from the age of twenty to fifty 
and over, some totally illiterate, others totally ig- 
norant of the language, and yet patiently trying to 
learn to read, write and talk English. To be a 
teacher of such a class is worthy one's best efforts. 

The appreciation and development shown by those 
who respond to the appeal of Americanization 
richly pay any effort and sacrifice we may put forth 
in their behalf. Now that the very air is charged 
with Americanism, Americanization is the task of 



APPENDIX I 137 

the hour. Let us go at it in the spirit of kindness 
and Christian fellowship. When the foreigners are 
given to understand that while in America they 
must live as Americans, it will become evident who 
are friendly aliens and who are alien enemies and 
as such undesirables. Their favorable response to 
our friendly appeal or their resentment of it will be 
positive proof of their willingness to become one 
with us or one against us. By our sympathetic ap- 
proach we can persuade them even at this late hour 
that Americanization is for their good as well as 
for the good of this nation. 



Appendix II 

LIST OF MAGYAR PUBLICATIONS IN THE 
UNITED STATES 

MAGYAR PERIODICALS SECULAR 

Akroni Hirlap, "Weekly, non-political, A. Tarnocy, 
Editor, Akron, Ohio. 

A Het, Weekly, Evans St., Bethlehem, Pa. 

Amerikai Magyar Nepszava, Daily, Ind., Geza D. 
Berko, Editor, 178 2nd Ave., New York City, 
N.Y. 

Amerikai Magyar Hirlap, Weekly, Nationalist, 
Earnest N. Nemenyi, Editor, 239 E. Front St., 
Youngstown, 0. 

A Het, Weekly, Louis Tarcai, Editor, 8802 Buckeye 
Road, Cleveland, O. 

Amerikai Magyar sag (American Hungarian), Semi- 
weekly, Lorand Simay, Editor, 1285 2nd Ave., 
New York City, N. Y. 

America, Weekly, L. Polya, Editor, Buffalo, N. Y. 

A Munka (Day's Work), Monthly, Georqe Kemeny, 
Editor, 202 Empire Bldg., Detroit, Mich. 

Amerikai Magyar Kerteszlap, N. Erdijhelyi, Edi- 
tor, Hammond, La. 

A Felszabadulas, Weekly, I.W.W., Chicago, 111. 

American Magyar and Hungarian Daily, 8926 Buck- 
eye Eoad, Cleveland, 0. 

A Bermunkas (The Wage Worker), Semi-monthly, 
I.W.W., Newman Ander, Editor, 350 East 81st 
St., New York City, N. Y. 

Berko Kepes Ujsazga (Illustrated News), Berko D. 
Geza, Editor, 178 2nd Ave., New York Citv, 
N. Y. 

138 



APPENDIX II 139 

Buffalo Hirlap, Weekly, Michael Kosztin, Editor, 

1978 Niagara St., Buffalo, N. Y. 
Bukfenc (Topsy Turvy), Semi-monthly, Arpad Tar- 

nocy, Editor, Hippodrome Annex, Cleveland, 

O. (Humor.) 
California Magyar (Agriculture), Igaly S. Zneto- 

gar, Editor, 2719 Magnolia St., Oakland, Cal. 
Bongo , Semi-monthly (Humor), George Kemeny, 

Editor, 276 25th St., Detroit, Mich. 
Deutsche Ungarischer Bote, Weekly, Ind., 117 Find- 
ley St., Cincinnati, 0. 
Ebreszto, Semi-monthly, Wallingford Conn. 
Elore Rapes Folyoirat (Socialist), Daily, Sunday 

and Semi-monthly, Ch. Varga, Editor, 5 E. 3rd 

St., New York City, N. Y. 
Fuggettenseg, Ind., J. H. Mosni, Editor, Martins 

Ferry, 0. 
Hirado, Weekly, M. Kostin, Editor, 1978 Niagara 

St., Buffalo, N. Y. 
Hirado, Weekly (Rep.), Ernest Porsolt, Editor, 

Johnstown, Pa. 
Kepis Tudosito, Paul V. Nessi, Editor, 111 Howard 

St., Newark, N. J. 
Kepis Vilaglap, (Lit. and Comment) New York 

City, N. Y. 
Magyar Banyaszlap (Hungarian Miners' Journal), 

Weekly, Martin Himler, Editor, 75 E. 10th St., 

New York City, N. Y. 
Magyar Hirado, Semi-weekly, Ind., B. T. Tarkanyi, 

Editor, 4805 7th Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. 
Magyar Hirado, Alex. Berkovitz, Editor, Philadel- 
phia, Pa. 
Magyar Hirlap, Semi-weekly, Ind., Aladar Fongo, 

Editor, 2227 W. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, Mich. 
Magyar HirnoJc, Weekly, Ind., Adalbert Nikelszky, 

Editor, 62 Dennis St., New Brunswick, N. J. 
Magyar Kertesz (Agriculture), Stephen Berczik, 



140 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

Editor, 508 Stock Exchange Bldg., Los Angeles, 
Cal. 

Magyar Munkaslap, Weekly, Labor, Ernest I. Man- 
del, Editor, 621 Tribune Bldg., New York City, 
N. Y. 

Magyar Tribune, Weekly, M. Benedek, Editor, 2207 
Clybonrn Ave., Chicago, 111. 

Magyar Tudosito, Weekly, Ind., Rev. B. Bertok, Ed- 
itor, Tudosito Publishing Co., South Bend, Ind. 

Magyar Ujsag (Magyar News), Julius Sipas, Edi- 
tor, 15 West End Ave., Detroit, Mich. 

Magyar Ujsag (Magyar News), Lad Mathe, Editor, 
116 French St., New Brunswick, N. J. 

Magyar oh Vasarnapja, Weekly, 8302 Buckeye Road, 
Cleveland, 0. 

Magyar Vilag (Magyar World), Weekly, Rep., 
Stephen Gyongyosy, Editor, 431 Fourth Ave., 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Neivark Hirado, Weekly, Ind., J. Schreiner, Edi- 
tor, 111 Howard St., Newark, N. J. 

Otthon (Sun), Weekly, Alex D. Dessewffy, Editor, 
139 N. Clark St., People's Gas Bldg., Chicago, 
111. 

Szabadsag, Daily, Ind., 1803 2nd Ave., Pittsburgh, 
Pa. 

Sportvilag (Sports), New York City, N. Y. 

St. Louis es Videke, Weekly, Rep., C. Kaldor, Edi- 
tor, 2023 S. Broadway, St. Louis, Mo. 

Szabadsag (Liberty), Daily, New York City, N. Y. 

Szabadsag (Liberty), Daily, Ind. Rep., Andrew 
Cherna, Editor, 700 Huron Road, Cleveland, O. 

Szabad Sajto (Free Press), Weekly, Rep., Cor- 
nelius Csongradi, Editor, 188 Passaic St., Pas- 
saic, N. J. 

Szovetseg, Monthly (Religious and Sick Benefit), 
1418 State St., Bridgeport, Conn. 

Takarekos Haziasszony Ujsagja (Home Manage- 



APPENDIX II 141 

ment), Monthly, 2227 W. Jefferson St., Detroit, 

Mich. 
Testverizseg, Weekly, Dr. Foetan Harrassti, Editor, 

579 Howard Ave., Bridgeport, Conn. 
Uj Magyarorszag, G. Bogdamy, Editor, 239 Front 

St., Youngstown, 0. 
Varosi Elet, Ind., South Bend, Ind. 
Verhovayah Lapja, Weekly, Ind., G. Garay, Editor, 

612 Merkle Bldg., Hazleton, Pa. 
Videhe (Vicinity), Weekly, Ind., Michael M. Barta, 

Editor, Lorain, 0. 



MAGYAR PUBLICATIONS — RELIGIOUS 

Amerikai-Magyar-Reformatusoh Lapja (Sentinel), 

Weekly, Presbyterian and Keformed Chnrch in 

U. S., Rev. Alex. Harsanyi, Editor, 1008 10th 

Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. 
Az Idok Jeleiy Quarterly, Seventh Day Adventist, 

Brookfield, 111. 
Ebreszto, Semi-monthly, Bela Kovacs, Editor, Wal- 

lingford, Conn. 
Evangelium Hirnohe (The Gospel Messenger), 

Semi-monthly, Hungarian Baptist Ass'n., Orosz 

Istvan, Editor, 8005 Holton Ave., Cleveland, O. 
Fuggettenseg (Independence), Weekly Hungarian 

Church of Trenton, Alex. Zambory, Editor, 719 

Hudson St., Trenton, N. J. 
Harangszo, Lutheran, Bethlehem, Pa. 
Magyar Egyhaz, Weekly, Hungarian Reformed 

Church in U. S., Rev. J. Melegh, Editor, 138 

Eig-ht St., McKeesport, Pa. 
Magyar KatholiJcus Zaszlo, Weekly, St. Stephen's 

Roman Catholic Church, Rev. Kalmaist Kovats, 

Editor, Evans Ave. and 7th St., McKeesport, 

Pa. 



142 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

Magyarok Vasarnapja, Weekly, 8302 Buckeye Road, 
Cleveland, 0. 

Reformatus Himok, Monthly, Hungarian Reformed 
Church in America, Rev. B. Kovacs, Editor, 
Wallingford, Conn. 

Vallasos Lap, Weekly, Baptist, Rev. Andrew Hand- 
ler, Editor, 882 Hatch St., St. Paul, Minn. 

Vedd es Olvascl (Take and Read), Semi-monthly, 
Northern Baptist, Rev. A. Toth, Editor, 2343 
Williams St., Trenton, N. J. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Hungary of the Hungarians, L. Kellner, Aenold & 

Delisle, Scribners, 1914. 
Hungary of To-day, P. Alden, Nash, London, 1909. 
The Magyars of Cleveland, H. F. Cook, Americani- 
zation Committee, 1919. 
Hungarians in the American Civil War, E. Pivany, 

Dongo Year Book, 1903. 
Modem Austria — Races and Social Problems, V. 

Gayda, London, 1915. 
Racial Problems in Hungary, R. W. Seton-Watson, 

London, 1909. 
The Commentator, A Monthly, Knights of Columbus 

Bldg., Youngs town, 0. 
Hungarian Immigration, E. A. Steiner, " Outlook' ' 

LXXIV, 1903. 
History of Hungarian Literature, Riedl, London, 

1906. 
Political Evolution of the Hungarian Nation, C. M. 

K. Hugesson, London. 
Palmerston and the Hungarian Revolution, C. 

Sproxton, Cambridge University Press, 1919. 
Against the Current, E. A. Steiner, New York, 

1912. 
St. Peter's Umbrella, K. Mikszath, New York. 
Hungarian Catholics in America, Vol. 7 of Catholic 

Encyclopedia. 
The Story of Hungary, A. Vambery. 
Hungary — de Vargha, Dr. Julius. 
Our Slavic Fellow Citizens, Balch, E. G-., Charities 

Publishing Co., New York City, 1910. 
Old Homes of New Americans, Clark, F. E. (Chaps. 

IX and X), Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1913. 

143 



144 THE MAGYARS IN AMERICA 

Races and Immigrants in America, J. R. Commons, 

1915. 
History of the Hungarian Revolution, A. Vambery. 
Tales and Traditions of Hungary (Folk lore), Prel- 

szky, Theresa. 
Hungary, Yolland, A. B., Jack, London, 1917. 
Peasant Art in Austria and Hungary, Holmes, 

Chas., "The Studio," London, 1911. 
Memories of My Exile, Kossuth, Louis, French, 

New York City. 
Hungary a Land of Shepherd Kings, Nat. Geog. 

Mag., Oct. 1914. 
The People of Hungary; Their Work on the Land, 

Wallis, B. C, Geog. Rev., Dec. 1917. 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Achievements, notable, 23, 24. 
Agriculture, 28; farm housing, 

33; farm laborers, 32; farms, 

size of, 81. 
Alfold, 14. 
Americanization, 68-70, 93, 104, 

135-137. 
Arpad, 13, 14, 17. 
Ausgleich, 28, 37. 

Bibliography, 143-44. 

Catechisation, 94. 
Children, moral training of, 72. 
Christianization of Hungary, 14. 
Church business meetings, 90. 
Church entertainments, 91. 
Church, institutional, 111. 
Coloman, King, 15. 
Crusades, The, 16. 
Curators, 42, 43, 96. 

Daily Vacation Bible Schools, 

128; curriculum for, 129. 
Deaconesses, 95, 118. 
Drinking, 71. 

Eastern Orthodox Church, 19, 20, 
34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 62, 89. 

Economic conditions in Hungary, 
28, 29; social effects of, 60; 
government aid, 28; industrial 
insurance, 29 ; industrial 
schools, 28; postal savings 
banks, 29; economic data of 
immigrants, 29, 64, 65. 

Edict of Toleration, 19. 

Education, 34-36. 

Emigration, cause of, economic, 
31, 32, 33, 64; political, 58; 
social conditions in Hungarv, 
30. 



147 



Emigration from U. S., 26, 27. 

Evangelism, church, 45, 111; par- 
ish, 125-127; street, 110. 

Extra church movements, 119; 
Y. M. C. A., 44, 120, 121, 122; 
Y. P. S. C. E., 44, 114, 116, 
120, 130; Y. W. C. A., 44, 120, 
122. 

Farm laborers, 32. 

Golden bull, 16. 
Great names, 15. 

Hapsburgs, The, 18, 19, 23, 38, 
67. 

Honesty, 71. 

Housing (in Hungary) ; Farm 
Act, 33. 

Housing (in U. S.), 61. 

Hungarian National Hymn, 46. 

Hungary : buffer state, 46 ; Chris- 
tianization of, 14. 

Hunyadi, John, 15. 

Illiteracy, 35. 

Immigrants: distribution of, 50- 
56; migrations in U. S., 56; 
return, 56, 58. 

Industry: government aid, 28; 
industrial insurance, 29; in- 
dustrial schools, 28. 

Intermarriage, 23. 

Invasions, Ottoman Turks, 17. 

Jews; literacy, 34, 35, 36; Mag- 
yars in U. S., 78; schools, 34; 
toleration to, 38; trades peo- 
ple, 31. 

Kossuth, 20, 21, 23. 



148 



INDEX 



Libraries, 34. 

Literature, 36, 123: Magyar, 36; 
newspapers, 36, 76, 77 ; list of 
in U. S., 138-142; parochial, 
124; pressing need for, 123; 
tracts, 124. 

Louis I, 15. 

Magnates, 30. 

Magyars: original, 13; assimi- 
lating power, 22; characteris- 
tics, 21; government, 16; 
notable achievements, 23; mi- 
grations in U. S., 56, 109, 116; 
virile race, 22. 

Magyar Reformed Churches in 
U. S., 89: church business 
meetings, 90; church services, 
93; deaconesses, 94; entertain- 
ments, 91; pastors' salaries, 
92. 

Ministers of kin: trained abroad, 
113; trained in U. S., 113; 
trained both here and abroad, 
114; American men trained 
abroad, 116. 

Museums, 34. 

Morals, 70; regard for law, 72. 

Neighborhood life, 65; spirit, 66. 

Newspapers: parochial, 124; re- 
ligious, 77, 141-142; secular, 
77, 138-141. 

Nobles, 30. 

Old country church methods re- 
tained here, 91. 

Orphans, care of, 74. 

Organizations, 75; effects of emi- 
gration, 103. 

Pan Germanism, 19; Pan Slav- 
ism, 20; Pan Magyarism, 20. 

Pastors: home visitations, 95; 
salaries, 92. 

Peasants, 30; Beres, 30; Betyars, 
30; tenant farmers, 31. 

Petofi, Alex., 36, 47. 

Political situation, 25; effect on 
emigration, 26. 

Protestantism in Hungary, 81. 



Protestant Magyar Churches in 
U. S.: Baptist, 78, 79, 80, 85- 
87; Hungarian Reformed, 79, 
106, 107, 110; Lutheran, 80, 
81, 101 ; Presbyterian in U. S., 
80; Presbyterian in U. S. A., 
79, 112, 124, 129, 130; Protest- 
ant Episcopal, 80, 107; Re- 
formed in U. S., 78, 109, 112, 
124, 129; Reformed in Amer- 
ica, 88. 

Racial agitation, 19; Pan Ger- 
manism, 19; Pan Slavism, 20; 
Pan Magyarism, 20. 

Reformation, The, 18. 

Reformed Church in Hungary, 
40-45, 80, 110; its organiza- 
tion, 40. 

Religious approach, forms of: 
church evangelism, 111; indi- 
vidual methods, 108; institu- 
tional church, 111; social set- 
tlement, 108; street evangel- 
ism, 110. 

Religious education, 127. 

Religious conditions in Hungary, 
37, 40. 

Religious conditions in America, 
78, 117, 118. 

Revolution of 1848, 20. 

Roman Catholic Church, 14, 19, 
20, 38, 40, 41, 45, 62, 89. 

Salvation Army, 122. 

Savings, 63; postal savings 
banks, 29. 

Schools in Hungary, 34; indus- 
trial, 28. 

Social conditions in Hungary, 29. 

Society in Hungary, 30: mag- 
nates, 30; nobles, 30; peas- 
ants, 30; trades people, 31; 
tenant farmers, 34. 

Stephan, first King, 15. 

"Stola" system, 90, 93. 

Street evangelism, 110. 

Student volunteers, 44. 



Teacher training classes, 129. 
Tenant farmers, 31. 



^M 281949 



INDEX 



149 



Thrift, 63. 
Tracts, 124. 
Trades people, 31. 
Turks, The, 17, 18, 46. 



Wages: in Hungary, 31; in U. 

S., 62. 
World War, 22, 26, 67, 97, 98, 

104. 
Worship, customs in, 93. 



Unrest in America, 26. 



Vacation Bible schools, 94, 113. 



Y. M. C. A., 44, 120, 121, 122. 
Y. P. S. C. E., 44, 114, 116, 120, 

130. 
Y. W. C. A., 44, 120, 122. 















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